Ambassadors
Matthew Ocko
Matt Ocko, with three decades of experience as a technology entrepreneur and VC, in the US and globally, is co-Managing Partner and co-founder of DCVC (Data Collective). Matt’s current investments on behalf of DCVC span from computational drug discovery and synthetic biology to geospatial and space access platforms, robotics, applied AI, anti-terror systems, and large-scale enterprise platforms including quantum computers.
In addition to large IPO outcomes, many of Matt’s prior investments were acquired to become core capabilities of companies like Illumina, Cisco, Google, IBM, Amazon/AWS, VMware, Salesforce, and Akamai. His venture investments prior to DCVC include Zoom (ZM), Fortinet (FTNT), D-Wave Systems, Uber (UBER), AngelList, Xensource (CTRX), and Facebook (FB). Matt founded and was VP of R&D of Da Vinci Systems, a pioneering e-mail software vendor with over 1 million users world-wide prior to its acquisition.
Matt holds a degree in Physics from Yale University, and he is an inventor on over 50 granted or in-process patents in areas as diverse as computer systems virtualization, fraud detection, and AR. Matt has spent decades helping to ensure the engines of American innovation are available to national security missions and is known across the federal government for his proactive investment in capabilities needed for the missions of the future. He is an advisor to (and through his firm, frequent co-investor with) In-Q-Tel, a long-time member of and advisor to BENS (Business Executives for National Security) led by General Joseph L. Votel, U.S. Army (Ret.), a founding sponsor of and advisor to the Defense Intelligence Memorial Foundation, a major donor to and Ambassador for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation led by Major General Clayton M. Hutmacher, U.S. Army (Ret.) and is/has been a frequent pro bono advisor to senior staff of the FBI, CIA, SOCOM, and certain interagency committees on select technology and policy matters.
He still writes code and builds robots for fun with his kids but admits to liking Erlang better than Clojure, and Fischertechnik better than Lego Mindstorms.
