ANDREA CARAFA

Andrea Carafa is a Silicon Valley–based technology and higher education leader who currently directs the Blackstone Launchpad powered by Techstars, teaches technology innovation and entrepreneurship, and advises startups and academic leaders as entrepreneur in residence at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He focuses on emerging technology addressing global challenges in areas such as energy, AI, water, health, new materials, and infrastructure. He has been recognized through roles and honors including World Economic Forum Global Shaper, member of the Fast Company Impact Council, member of the Partnership on AI, MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 ambassador and judge, fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, and delegate to the United Nations Science, Technology and Innovation Forum for the SDGs.

 

Previously, Andrea conducted research, built programs and strategic partnerships, advised startups, and taught technology innovation and entrepreneurship at Stanford. He also lectured at the University of Milan Bicocca, worked at the European Commission and Grenoble-EM as Marie Curie fellow in emerging technology, and was a visiting fellow at Bocconi and CERN. He created and chaired the Impact Entrepreneurship Initiative at President Obama's Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and co-created an EU Knowledge Alliance focused on entrepreneurship, connecting Stanford with several European universities and partners. He also inspired and helped CERN build CollSpotting, a data analytics platform designed to spot emerging technology trends, accelerate R&D collaboration, and streamline technology transfer from research labs and companies to society. Andrea was the founder and CEO of the consumer tech startup ArtsUp, the sustainable food biotech startup Vita, and the sustainability innovation studio GYE. He has been a speaker at summits hosted by organizations such as the World Economic Forum, United Nations, and The Economist, and his work and ideas have been featured in publications including Reuters, Fortune, Huffington Post, and Fast Company.