Diana Grayson has been in venture capital for more than a decade and was one of the first vice-chancellors to build a portfolio around the transformation of the industrial sector in our economy. At NEA, where he was an eight-year partner, he led investments and sat on the boards of companies, including Desktop Metal, Unashop, Framebridge, Tulip, Formlabs, and Guidelines. He left NEA to start his own fund, Construction Capital, which has a portfolio that exclusively focuses on startups in the early stages, including Copia, ChargeLab, Treadwell, and Hadrian.
Not surprisingly, we are thrilled to have Grayson join us at the TechCrunch Disruption 2021 in September. Grayson has more than proven that he has a keen eye for conversion technology. The desktop metal went public in 2020 – he still sits on the chair of the compensation committee.
Unshape, another NEA-era investment, was acquired by PTC in 2019 for a full $525 million. The frame bridge was also acquired in 2020 by Graham Holdings. Grayson saw the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial brand with more porosity about the kind of deal he was doing at NEA, which was in the vicinity of producing and digitizing industry and verticals. And that’s where Construction Capital came in. It’s a $140 million fund run by Grayson and former Uber executive Rachel Holt.
In times of disruption, Grayson will serve as a startup battlefield judge. Battlefield is one of the most prestigious and exciting startup competitions in the world. Startups are expected on our stage in the early 20s and present their case to a panel of expert vice-chancellor judges, who then grill the founders about everything from revenue models to technology to team-market strategies. The winner goes away with a prize of $ 100,000 and the glory of being a battlefield winner. The names of technical families have started on the battlefield from Dropbox to Mint.
Grayson joined many other seasoned investors on the battlefield stage, including Camille Samuels, Dina Shakir, Terry Burns, Chantelle Garvey, and Alexa von Tobel. Interrupted 2021 go from 21 to 23 September and are virtual, Snatch tickets here starting below $100 for a limited time!
