About
Jim Gao is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Phaidra, where he oversees company operations and leads the Sales, Business Development, and Marketing teams. He also serves as Chairman of the company's Board of Directors. Before Phaidra, Gao founded and led the DeepMind Energy team and previously worked as a Technical Lead for Google's Data Centers; he holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Chief Executive Officer at Phaidra
Intro paths
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In turn, Jim can intro founders to Phaidra's investors below.
Phaidra's investors · 15
Ahren Innovation CapitalCambridge, CambridgeshireCharacterMilwaukee · $2M checksCollaborative FundNew York · $500K – $1M checksCool Climate CollectiveSacramento · $100K – $350K checksEast Valley VenturesSaint JohnFlying Fish VenturesSeattle · $500K – $5M checksIncubate USLos AltosIndex VenturesSan Francisco · $540K – $10.8M checksNVIDIASanta Clara · since 2025Root and Shoot VenturesLos AngelesS32Palo AltoSection 32Palo AltoSony Ventures CorporationTokyoStarshotLos AngelesVela PartnersSan Francisco · $100K – $500K checks
Co-founders at Phaidra
VP

Veda PanneershelvamChief Technology Officer
KH

Katie HoffmanPresident and Chief Operating Officer
VP

Vedavyas PanneershelvamFounder
Experience
Skills & more
Finite Element Analysis13Thermal9HVAC16CFD6ASME3CAD17MEMS2Heat Transfer4Mechanical Engineering17Simulations10Modeling8Data Analysis9
+12 more
EngineeringResearchProject PlanningProgram ManagementCross-functional Team LeadershipData CenterLeadershipManagementSolidworksPythonCoolingMatlabLanguages Mandarin
- edX Honor Code Certificate for Artificial Intelligence — edX
From Jim's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Jim Gao?
- Jim Gao is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Phaidra, where he oversees company operations and leads the Sales, Business Development, and Marketing teams. He also serves as Chairman of the company's Board of Directors. Before Phaidra, Gao founded and led the DeepMind Energy team and previously worked as a Technical Lead for Google's Data Centers; he holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
- Where does Jim Gao work?
- Jim Gao is Chief Executive Officer of Phaidra.
- What companies did Jim Gao found?
- Jim Gao founded Phaidra.
- Where did Jim Gao go to school?
- Jim Gao studied at University of California, Berkeley (Mechanical Engineering & Environmental Science).
Same school
Also attended University of California, Berkeley1,453
Byron DeeterPartner at Bessemer Venture PartnersSteve WozniakCo-founder of AppleTony XuCo-founder & CEO of DoorDashAravind SrinivasCo-founder & CEO of Perplexity AIAli GhodsiCo-founder & CEO of DatabricksRyan PetersenFounder & CEO of Flexport
+ 1,447 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Phaidra7
Wesley TilluPartner at S32 focused on frontier technology investmentsFrank ChangManaging Partner at Flying Fish VenturesEli Blee-GoldmanCo-Founder and General Partner at CharacterOliver HedauxPrincipal at Ahren Innovation CapitalLudovic CopéréInvestor at Sony Ventures CorporationJeremyFounding Managing Partner at Starshot
+ 1 more
Also worked at DeepMind61
Demis HassabisCo-founder & CEO of Google DeepMindMustafa SuleymanCo-founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI; CEO of Microsoft AIAravind SrinivasCo-founder & CEO of Perplexity AIArthur MenschCo-founder & CEO of Mistral AIGabriel PereyraCo-founder & President of HarveyJeff RoseAdvisor at AI Capital
+ 55 more
Also worked at Google1,715
Ron ConwayFounder of SV AngelElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBrian SingermanCo-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundJess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalTomasz TunguzFounder & General Partner at Theory Ventures
+ 1,709 more

























