Webinar
Groq's BIG $20B Exit
Join Alumni Ventures’ Mark Edwards & Chris Sklarin for an exclusive webinar exploring the rationale behind our investment in Groq and the story behind its $20 billion exit.
In this session, Mark and Chris will walk through how our team sourced, evaluated, and backed Groq, and what made it a standout example of innovation in quantum computing and AI acceleration. The conversation will also highlight how venture capitalists assess category-defining startups and why Groq emerged as a transformative player in an extremely competitive tech landscape.
Whether you’re a current investor or exploring opportunities in frontier technologies, this webinar offers valuable insights into our investment process and portfolio strategy. You’ll also hear how we believe Groq is shaping the future of AI hardware and computing infrastructure. Reserve your spot today to learn how we backed one of the most talked-about exits in tech.
Want to access our Healthtech Syndicate startup deals to see, evaluate, and optionally invest? No cost, no commitment.
Why Attend?
- HomeLearn how Groq revolutionized AI hardware and quantum computing applications
- HomeGain insight into the criteria Alumni Ventures uses to evaluate and select category-defining startups
- HomeUnderstand why Groq’s technology, market opportunity, and execution made it a landmark venture success
Alumni Ventures is America’s largest venture capital firm for individual investors.
About your presenters
Mark Edwards is the Chief Investment Officer at Alumni Ventures. A seasoned private equity executive who was an early investor in AV, Mark has served on the investment committees of Green D Ventures and Spike Ventures since inception. Mark has over 20 years of direct investing experience, having served in leadership roles at Five Peaks Capital Management, JLL Partners (~$4B of capital under management), and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (~$10B of capital under management). He holds an AB with honors from Stanford University and an MBA with distinction from Tuck (Tuck Scholar).
Overview
Chris Sklarin is Managing Partner of the Castor Fund at Alumni Ventures, where for over seven years he has led investments in transformative technology companies redefining how we compute, communicate, and cure. He has deployed more than $120 million across all stages—from seed to growth—building Castor Ventures and expanding the portfolio to over 150 companies. The Castor portfolio features industry leaders such as Algorand, Boldin, Capital RX, Enable, Groq, Ocient, Qedma, RapidSOS, Synchron, and Unlearn AI, each tackling high-impact problems with ambitious solutions.
With over 20 years in venture capital and more than a decade in product development and sales engineering, Chris has also held venture roles focused on enterprise and mobile investments, served as Director of Business Development at a biomedical venture accelerator and an early-stage firm, and sourced seed-stage deals at JumpStart, a nationally recognized venture development organization in Cleveland. Chris holds an SB in Electrical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Funds actively worked on
- Castor Ventures
- Syndications
Investment Areas of Focus:
Chris targets companies at the forefront of software, AI, data infrastructure, and connectivity, backing teams that are not just innovating but reengineering the physical and digital infrastructure powering the modern world. He believes the next generation of breakthrough companies will emerge from foundational shifts in technology and is committed to supporting the leaders driving that transformation.
A core component of Chris’s strategy is leveraging the powerful innovation engine of the MIT ecosystem. As an MIT alumnus, he taps this network to source compelling investment opportunities and connect with top-tier investors. Chris’s investment approach is informed by his early career as a software and sales engineer, with technical expertise in databases, telecom systems, and software architecture. This hands-on background sharpens his diligence and ability to assess technical complexity and market viability.