Bandgap brings a breadth of early stage operational experience in a wide range of technology industries, as well as deep technical expertise in several areas. Our team has hands on experience taking companies from the earliest stages of development all the way to successful exits. Bandgap Ventures understands what it is like to be an entrepreneur and strives to create an open working relationship where investor and entrepreneur are partners working toward a common goal.
MICHAEL FALCON, MANAGING PARTNER
Michael Falcon has over eighteen years of operating experience within high technology, with emphasis on the hardware/electronics and physical sciences industry sectors. Prior to Bandgap Ventures, Michael was a Partner at Alara Capital (formerly Guggenheim Venture Partners), which was the venture capital group of Guggenheim Partners, a global financial services firm with more than $160 billion in assets under management.
Michael has held senior positions in operating companies including Director of Marketing and Business Development at Molecular Imprints, a venture-backed semiconductor equipment company that originated at the University of Texas-Austin and recently acquired by Canon. Michael also served as a Captain at the US Air Force Research Laboratory, where he led a multi-million dollar semiconductor laser research and development program and managed a team of scientists and engineers at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico. Michael has also worked at Texas Instruments and Teradyne Corporation and has authored multiple technical publications.
Michael has four degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including an M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he was a Leaders for Manufacturing/Leaders for Global Operations Fellow and a recipient of the Patrick G. McGovern Award for Entrepreneurship.
SAM KIM, MANAGING PARTNER
Sam has been a serial entrepreneur and investor in many early stage technology companies across a wide variety of industries. Prior to Bandgap Ventures, Sam was the founder and Managing Director of Bluecap Partners, an Austin-based venture capital firm focused on equity investments in hardware/physical science technology companies.
Before starting Bluecap Partners, Sam was the VP of Business Development at Applied Nanotech, Inc. (nanotechnology), CTO of LimeLite Technologies (energy efficient lighting), founder and CEO of Hybiscus Technologies, Inc. (semiconductor packaging), founder and CEO of Vasecure, Inc. (medical device), senior engineer at Illumina, Inc. (biotechnology), and has served on advisory boards of several start-up companies. Sam brings technical depth and operational experience in a variety of fields including advanced materials, nanosensors, nanoelectronics, photonics, semiconductor physics, alternative energy technologies, printed electronics, biotechnology, and medical devices. Sam holds over 20 patents in the areas of nanotechnology, self-assembly, photonics, and advanced materials.
Sam holds a MS and BS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a Dual PhD in Electrical Engineering and Nanotechnology from the University of Washington.