We are so excited to welcome Babak Parviz to Madrona. Babak has envisioned and built some of the most pivotal products and initiatives at two of the world’s most valuable companies, Amazon & Google X. A decade ago, he started and led the Google Glass team, which pushed the boundaries of science, design, and a cultural understanding of how deeply ingrained technology is in our lives. While at Google, Babak recognized the ability of robotics to revolutionize surgery, starting and spinning out Verb Surgical, which Johnson and Johnson recently acquired.
From that launching pad, Jeff Bezos recruited him to come to Amazon to lead a yet-to-be-formed organization that would think big and change the world. For the past eight years, Babak led the Grand Challenge organization, which is responsible for Amazon’s expansion into new and substantial businesses, including healthcare services, diagnostics, and implementing machine learning for health. He built and led teams focused on wearables, experiential e-commerce, devices for childhood development, and machine learning for biotech, among other areas.
Beyond what he has done, Babak brings a critical mind and curiosity to all his interactions. We were first introduced through the extensive work Madrona does with Amazon on behalf of our companies, and we were lucky enough to have him at our limited partner meetings to talk about the significant initiatives ahead of us as a tech industry and a society.
As a Venture Partner, Babak will be working with our portfolio companies, evaluating new companies, and bringing his deep understanding of the impact an invention, a new approach, and new technology can have on every one of us.
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