The Harvard Grid Meet the VCs Series features Gigascale Capital, a Palo Alto-based pre-seed to Series A venture capital firm backing companies rebuilding the physical economy. Their portfolio includes Commonwealth Fusion Systems (commercial nuclear fusion power), Form Energy (long-duration iron-air energy storage), Panthalassa (ocean energy systems), Heron Power (next-gen energy infrastructure), and Mill (smart food waste systems).

What sets Gigascale Capital apart:

Gigascale backs early-stage founders building hard tech, deep tech, and physical infrastructure for climate impact. They believe climate progress comes from performance—building physical systems that are cheaper, faster, and more reliable than what they replace. Gigascale partners with technical founders from day one to navigate the critical technical, commercial, and operational steps from early lab validation to industrial scale.

Event Itinerary (Tuesday, October 27)

• One-on-One Office Hours: Select students will have direct office hours with Olivia Strader (please apply through RSVP).

• Private Dinner: Select students will be invited to an intimate dinner with Olivia Strader (please apply through RSVP).

Note: Selected participants will be notified individually regarding office hours and dinner attendance, details, and locations.

Gigascale Investment Verticals

• Clean Energy & Grid Infrastructure: Commercial fusion, grid-scale energy storage, next-gen power generation

• Deep Tech & Physical AI: Hardware infrastructure, specialized silicon, advanced computation systems

  Fund Momentum

• Advanced Manufacturing & Industrial Decarbonization: Sustainable raw materials, green steel, clean cement, chemical project efficiency

• Resource Efficiency & Physical Supply Chains: Critical minerals, carbon removal, waste conversion, circular economy technologies

Visiting VC

Olivia Strader — Investing Team, Gigascale Capital

At Gigascale, Olivia focuses on sourcing and supporting founders building breakthrough technologies across energy, deep tech, and the physical economy. Prior to joining Gigascale, she gained venture capital and impact experience at DBL Partners, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, and the Biotech+ Hub at Pegasus Park. Olivia earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and holds a BA from Davidson College.

A Note About the Series

Meet the VCs sessions are informal networking and educational opportunities. They are not confidential settings. We encourage attendees to use their judgment about what they share.

If you receive a term sheet, investment offer, or any formal agreement through a connection made at one of these events, the Grid is not a party to that process. We recommend consulting an i-lab legal advisor before signing anything. You can also seek guidance through the Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project, the Harvard Grid Lab-2-Market Monthly Series, and email questions directly to us at grid@harvard.edu.

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE

Seating at all events is on a first come, first serve basis. RSVPs are encouraged so we have an accurate headcount for classroom size and catering purposes.

ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

The Harvard Grid welcomes attendees of all abilities to our events. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about physical access, please contact grid@harvard.edu in advance of the event.

FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

Please note: By registering, you agree to receive emails about this event and future communications from the Harvard Grid.