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Mark Wade

Unicorn founder

Founder at Ayar Labs · Director at Great Sky

San Francisco Bay Area

FoundedAyar Labs$3.8B

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About

Mark Wade is president, CEO, and a co-founder of Ayar Labs, a company developing optical communications technology for the data center industry. Before founding the company, he led the team that designed the optics in the first processor to communicate using light, having developed the underlying technology with his co-founders at MIT and UC Berkeley between 2010 and 2015. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the same institution, and bachelor's degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University; he was a 2011 NSF Fellow and, with his co-founders, won the MIT Clean Energy Prize in May 2015.

Director at Great Sky

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In turn, Mark can intro founders to Great Sky's investors below.

Great Sky's investors · 10

55 Northsince 2026ArcTern VenturesToronto · $730K – $2.9M checks · since 2026Binance LabsMalta · $100K – $5M checks · since 2026Bison VenturesSeattle · since 2025Matchstick VenturesBoulder · $500K – $1.5M checks · since 2026Mythos Ventures Management, LlcSeattle · $100K – $2M checksOlive Tree CapitalBostonRange VCDenver · $1M – $3M checksService Provider CapitalVailWireframe VenturesSan Francisco · $500K – $2M checks

Co-founders at Great Sky

JSJeffrey Shainline
Jeffrey ShainlineFounder & CEO
JCJeffrey Chiles
Jeffrey ChilesCo-Founder & CTO
BP
Bryce PrimaveraCo-Founder & VP of Architecture
SKSaeed Khan
Saeed KhanCo-Founder & VP of Fabrication

Founder at Ayar Labs

Intro paths

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In turn, Mark can intro founders to Ayar Labs's investors below.

Ayar Labs's investors · 32

AlabasterSydneyAlumni VenturesManchester · $100K – $10M checksAMD VenturesSanta ClaraAQUITI GestionBordeaux · since 2022Basecamp FundManchester · $100K – $10M checksBerkeley FrontierBerkeleyBlue Bear VenturesBerkeley · $100K – $400K checksCastor VenturesDepartment of EnergyWashington · since 2016Factorial FundsSan FranciscoG Vision CapitalMountain ViewGreycroftNew York · $100K – $5M checksGrit VenturesMenlo Park · $100K – $1M checksHouseBerkeley · $1M – $2M checksIAG Capital PartnersCharlestonInsight PartnersNew York · $120M – $350M checksIntel CapitalSanta Clara · $1M – $20M checks · since 2018Koru CapitalLight Street CapitalPalo AltoLigo Partners LLCMiamiLockheed Martin VenturesBethesdaNational Science FoundationAlexandria · since 2016Nautilus Ventures Management Company (Us), LlcPalo AltoNTT DOCOMO VenturesTokyoNVIDIASanta Clara · since 2026Page One VenturesSilicon ValleyPartners ResoluteChicagoPlayground GlobalPalo Alto · $1M – $20M checks · since 2018Rising TidePacificaSilicon CatalystBrisbaneTechU VenturesCedarhurstTyche PartnersLos Altos · $1M – $10M checks

Co-founders at Ayar Labs

AW
Alex Wright-GladsteinFounder
CS
Chen SunFounder
MP
Milos PopovicFounder
RR
Rajeev RamFounder
VS
Vladimir StojanovicFounder

Experience

  1. Ayar LabsPresident and CEO, Co-Foundercurrent2023 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  2. Ayar LabsPresident, CTO, and Co-Founder2020 — 2023San Francisco Bay Area
  3. Ayar LabsCo-Founder, President, and Chief Scientist2015 — 2020Emeryville, CA
  4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Research Affiliate2013 — 2015
  5. University of Colorado BoulderResearch assistant2011 — 2015

Frequently asked questions

Who is Mark Wade?
Mark Wade is president, CEO, and a co-founder of Ayar Labs, a company developing optical communications technology for the data center industry. Before founding the company, he led the team that designed the optics in the first processor to communicate using light, having developed the underlying technology with his co-founders at MIT and UC Berkeley between 2010 and 2015. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the same institution, and bachelor's degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University; he was a 2011 NSF Fellow and, with his co-founders, won the MIT Clean Energy Prize in May 2015.
Where does Mark Wade work?
Mark Wade is Founder of Ayar Labs.
What companies did Mark Wade found?
Mark Wade founded Ayar Labs.
Where did Mark Wade go to school?
Mark Wade studied at University of Colorado Boulder (Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Electrical Engineering (Optics)); Louisiana Tech University (Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Physics); Louisiana Tech University (Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Electrical Engineering).

Founder mafias

Great Sky mafia2

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Noah SongComputational Physics / MLFounded Archal

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