Victoria Chernow

Victoria Chernow is a Venture Associate at Playground Global. Victoria has also worked as a Field Technologist at In-Q-Tel and as a Fellow at ARPA-E.

At In-Q-Tel, Victoria provided technology leadership and direction to strategic investments in startup companies across the globe. Her focus areas included climate tech and energy, materials, manufacturing, and bioengineering.

At ARPA-E, Victoria performed technical due diligence, identified R&D projects, and managed investments across a range of emerging technologies for the DOE’s high-risk, high-reward funding agency. Victoria also conducted technical reviews for the OPEN 2018 program portfolio, which included assessing hundreds of proposals, aiding in project selection, and negotiating technical milestones, ultimately leading to $98M invested across 40 different energy technology projects.

Victoria has a passion for bioengineering and has spearheaded program development in this area. Victoria has also organized workshops on the autonomous control of next generation advanced nuclear reactors, and the application of bioinspired design to energy technology. In addition, they have served as a technical expert at NASA’s iTech innovation competition, and participated in funding reviews for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and the National Science Foundation.

Victoria Chernow earned their Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science from Caltech. Victoria also holds a Master's Degree in Materials Science from Caltech. Victoria Chernow graduated cum laude in Chemistry from Harvard University.