Lisa Rich is a successful investor, strategist, communicator and operator. She is founder and Managing Partner of Hemisphere Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm focused on frontier tech: synthetic biology, robotics, drones and space. Hemisphere is a Top VC in the NewSpace sector that has invested in 200+ U.S. companies since 2014, and their portfolio includes +18 space companies including: Axiom Space, Umbra Lab, PlanetIQ and Made In Space (acquired by Redwire). Ms. Rich is also founder and Chief Operating Officer of Xplore, a commercial space exploration company providing low-cost access to space with missions to Earth orbit and beyond via their highly-capable Xcraft, designed to orbit the Moon, Mars, Venus, Lagrange points and near-Earth asteroids. She is dedicated to advancing commercialization for the frontier tech and space industry in particular, and is a frequent speaker on this topic. Appearances include NewSpace, The Center for Space Commerce and Finance, TechStars, Project Geospatial, AFWERX EngageSpace, Keiretsu Forum, Shearman & Sterling Family Office Group, Boston Private Wealth, Meb Faber show and SpaceCom; she also discussed the NewSpace industry on U.S. Commerce Secretary, Hon. Wilbur Ross’ panel discussion at the U.S. State Department in 2019. Ms. Rich holds a B.S. in English from Loyola University Chicago, and master’s degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
