Alex Hawkinson is the Founder and CEO of BrightAI, where he leads the mission to awaken critical infrastructure with our physical AI platform, transitioning operations from reactive to proactive. With over 25 years of experience in IoT, AI, SaaS, and cloud-based technologies, Alex leverages his expertise to transform industries with intelligent, forward-thinking solutions that redefine resilience and efficiency.

Before BrightAI, Alex founded and led SmartThings, a revolutionary IoT platform that reshaped the connected home landscape, known in the tech industry as “father of IOT”. Under his guidance, SmartThings grew into a global standard, supporting over 1 billion connected devices and fostering an ecosystem of 250,000 developers. Acquired by Samsung in 2014, SmartThings today reaches more than 350 million households across the globe.

Alex’s entrepreneurial influence extends to his co-founding roles at EfficientAI, advancing energy-efficient computing, and OurSky, a platform pioneering space-based technologies. As chairman of these ventures and a board member of companies like iFit, Strikepoint Group Holdings, and Pelsis Group, Alex continues to innovate at the intersection of technology and infrastructure.

Through his role on the Advisory Council for Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Alex shares his expertise and passion, mentoring the next generation of innovators. Whether building groundbreaking companies or empowering others, Alex’s career reflects a steadfast commitment to reimagining possibilities and creating a smarter, more resilient world.

Nick is a partner at Upfront Ventures. He focuses on early-stage investments in hard tech and critical infrastructure sectors like advanced manufacturing and robotics, aerospace and defense, energy and resources, and communications. Prior to joining Upfront, Nick was at Crosscut Ventures leading seed investments. Before Crosscut, Nick was an early employee at Warby Parker, where he was the general manager of the Home Try-On business. Nick also served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Human Ventures and as an investor with the Dorm Room Fund, First Round Capital’s student-run investment fund. Nick graduated with a degree in economics from UC Berkeley and earned his MBA from The Wharton School.