Fundraising Fox

Deepa Rao

Investor

Associate at The Engine Ventures

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

About

Deepa Rao is an investment associate at Engine Ventures with expertise in deep technology and climate sectors. She previously worked as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group, advising public and private sector clients on climate strategy, decarbonization, and clean energy transition. Rao holds a PhD in oceanography from the MIT-WHOI Joint Program and conducted postdoctoral research in microbial ecology and marine systems at MIT.

Experience

  1. Engine VenturesAssociatecurrent2025 — presentCambridge, Massachusetts, United States
  2. Boston Consulting Group (BCG)Consultant2022 — 2024Boston, MA
  3. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPostdoctoral Research Associate2020 — 2022Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
  4. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDoctoral Researcher2014 — 2020Cambridge, MA
  5. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyGraduate Teaching Assistant for Introductory Ecology2016Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
  6. Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionGuest Student at Saito Lab2017 — 2020Woods Hole, MA
  7. University of Hawaii at ManoaStudent at C-MORE Summer Course on Microbial Oceanography2015Honolulu, HI
  8. Georgetown UniversityGraduate Research Assistant2013 — 2014
  9. Georgetown UniversityDeveloper & Mentor2013 — 2014
  10. Georgetown UniversityTechnical & Media Fellow2012 — 2013Center for New Designs in Learning & Scholarship
  11. Georgetown UniversityGraduate Teaching Assistant2012 — 2013Georgetown University
  12. MITUndergraduate Research Assistant2010 — 2012Bosak and Ono Labs, MIT
  13. MITUndergraduate Teaching Fellow for Ecology I: The Earth System2011
  14. WGBHNOVA Online Intern2012WGBH Boston
  15. Harvard UniversityUndergraduate Research Fellow2011Petersham, MA
  16. HSA Engineers & ScientistsSummer Intern2010
  17. MITUndergraduate Research Assistant2009

Education

  1. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Biological Oceanography2014 — 2020
  2. Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionDoctor of Philosophy - PhD, Biological Oceanography2014 — 2020
  3. Santa Fe InstituteComplex Systems2017
  4. University of Hawaii at ManoaC-MORE Summer Course, Microbial Oceanography2015
  5. Georgetown UniversityMaster of Arts (M.A.), Culture2012 — 2014
  6. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyBachelor's Degree, Earth2008 — 2012
  7. Phoenix Country Day School2004 — 2008

Skills & more

Research SkillsScience CommunicationComplex SystemsClimateScience35Research34Molecular Biology19Statistics17Data Analysis13Teaching12Ecology11Matlab10
+12 moreEditingExperimental DesignBloggingLaboratoryScience EducationPhotoshopRSustainabilityLaTeXPython (Programming Language)R (Programming Language)Public Speaking
  • Climate & Sustainability Foundational: Accelerator — Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
  • Kauffman Teaching Certificate Program — Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Climate and Sustainability Stewardship Program (Columbia Climate School & BCG) — Columbia Climate School

From Deepa's professional profile.

Colleagues at The Engine Ventures

Alaina Hartnett
Associate at The Engine Ventures
Ann DeWitt
General Partner at The Engine Ventures
Bettina Metais
Vice President of Investor Relations & Operations at The Engine Ventures
Colleen Calhoun
Investor at BURNT ISLAND VENTURES
Dan Resnicow
Operating Partner at The Engine Ventures
Darby Dunn
Executive in Residence at The Engine Ventures
David Bradwell
Operating Partner at The Engine Ventures
Ericka Tamayo-Guevara
Analyst at The Engine Ventures

Frequently asked questions

Where does Deepa Rao work?
Deepa Rao is Associate at The Engine Ventures.

Same school

Also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology1,280

Fred WilsonCo-founder & Partner at Union Square VenturesElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalAileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesHemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General CatalystNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGBrad FeldCo-founder of Foundry and Techstars

+ 1,274 more

Also attended Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution1

Kristin McDonaldPartner at Eniac Ventures

Also attended Santa Fe Institute1

Ashok ShrivastavaSVP, Chief Data Officer at Synapse Partners

Also attended Phoenix Country Day School4

Mala BansalMBA Associate Intern at Rocana VenturesJulius DodsonInvestor at Cendana CapitalLeonard SpeiserManaging Partner at Horizon 3 Venture StudioAlex BellerFounder at Postscript

Shared employers

Also worked at Boston Consulting Group (BCG)866

David SzeAdvisory Partner at GreylockDave MunichielloInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Massimo PrelzInvestor at DN CapitalRasmus AreskougInvestor at DN CapitalRiccardo MontiOperating Advisor at P101 VenturesAntonio TurroniOperating Advisor at P101 Ventures

+ 860 more

Also worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology441

Aileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesMatt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmScott BillerInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Noubar AfeyanInvestor at Flagship PioneeringVyas RamananVenture Partner at Third Rock VenturesRhie LimPartner, Global Strategy at One Way Ventures

+ 435 more

Also worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution6

Adam De Sola PoolInvestor at Clean Energy VentureSamantha WhitmoreInvestor at South Park CommonsAlan ChungInvestor at Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA)Ilya ValmianskiCo-Founder/CEO at SignalsHanny RiveraChief Scientist at Savia VenturesBenjamin MannFounder at Anthropic

Also worked at Georgetown University47

Trae StephensPartner at Founders Fund and co-founder of AndurilDoug BandVenture Partner at AlleyCorpAbbas F. "Eddy" ZuaiterPartner at Transform Capital ManagementTahira DosaniCo-Founder & Managing Partner at ResilienceVCLindsay M. PettingillInvestment Partner & Head of Internal AI at Village GlobalAlex TynionProducer @ Tricky Knot at Cosmic Venture Partners

+ 41 more