Alain Harrus

Dr. Harrus is a business and technology executive with a record of turning emerging companies with disruptive science-based technologies into global leaders. Previously, Dr. Harrus was a Partner at Crosslink Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital company where he co-led the firm’s semiconductor and energy technology investment activities. In an earlier role as Co-founder and General Partner at Compass Venture Partners, Dr. Harrus was a Series A investor in Tesla Motors, recognizing the game-changing potential for electric transportation and help usher in a new concept in high-density electric energy storage system. Before turning to venture capital, he developed breakthrough process technologies that kept semiconductor manufacturers on track with Moore’s Law – first as a Research Scientist at Bell Laboratories, later as Chief Technology Officer at Novellus Systems – now part of Lam Research. Dr. Harrus holds a BS degree in Mathematics and Physics, and an MS degree in Physics from the University of Paris XI at Orsay, France, as well as a Ph.D. degree in Solid State Physics from Temple University in Philadelphia. He has authored and co-authored more than 30 technical papers and is a co-inventor on six patents.