Scientist, Technologist & Investor
I back the founders turning frontier science into companies.
NASA JPL scientist turned investor. I read the physics and the cap table, and I help the hardest deep-tech companies get in front of the capital that fits, across climate, sensing, deep tech, AI/ML, and space.
Rashmi Shah
Former NASA JPL · Investor
The problem I solve
Deep tech fails in the gap between the science and the story.
The technology is genuinely hard, so the people who understand the science can't always translate it into something an investor will fund, and the people who can sell it don't always know whether it holds up. That gap is where good companies stall, raise on claims they can't defend, or spend a year building the wrong thing.
I've lived on both sides of it. For over a decade at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory I turned frontier science into working instruments in orbit. Now I diligence and back deep-tech founders, and advise them through the decisions that gap creates. I sit in it on purpose.
Who I back
The founders I want to meet.
I'm drawn to companies where the technology is genuinely hard and the science is the moat: the ones most investors can't fully evaluate, which is exactly where I can.
Frontier & deep tech
Hardware, instrumentation, and systems where the engineering is the bet.
Climate & sensing
Measurement, remote sensing, and the technologies that make the planet legible.
AI / ML
Applied to real physical and scientific problems, not just software.
Space
The domain I came from, and still know in my bones.
If you're building something the market underestimates because it can't read the science, I'm the kind of investor you want in the room early.
What I do
How I work with founders.
Capital
I help the right companies get in front of the capital that fits, including the funds I partner with. I don't write checks myself; what I bring is technical conviction, a scientist's read on whether the hard part actually works, and the relationships to put a fundable company in front of the right investors.
Building
When a company needs more than backing, when it needs to actually be built, I run a venture studio that does exactly that. Mandala Space Ventures is a Pasadena deep-space studio that incubates and stands up space companies from concept to commercial scale, walking distance from Caltech and JPL. For space founders who need a build-and-launch platform, I can bring that to bear.
I also take on a small number of advisory engagements each year where the fit is right.
The track record behind the judgment
The science behind the judgment.
At NASA JPL I pioneered Signals of Opportunity reflectometry, a remote-sensing method now used to measure snow, soil moisture, and coastal oceans, and led the SNOOPI mission. As JPL's first Associate Chief Technologist, I helped shape its frontier-technology investment strategy across AI/ML, climate, and sensing.
Today I source and diligence deep-tech and space investments as a Venture Partner at Market Impact Capital. As Managing Director at Mandala Space Ventures, I help stand up frontier space companies from concept to commercial scale, the same builder's work I did at JPL, now from the studio side.
Former NASA JPLEducation
PhD & MS, Aeronautics & Astronautics
Purdue University
BS, Electrical Engineering
Rochester Institute of Technology · summa cum laude
Experience
Two decades across NASA, research, and venture.
After a decade building technology at JPL, I moved into venture to back the founders doing what I used to do. I work across several funds because the best frontier deals don't respect fund boundaries.
2026 – Present
Mandala Space Ventures
Managing Director
Lead advisory and consulting engagements, support portfolio companies, and help shape investment strategy for the venture studio and fund building the space economy.
2025 – Present
Market Impact Capital
Venture Partner
Back founders building transformative, impactful ventures, bringing deep technical judgment to diligence across tech and impact investing.
2025 – Jun 2026
VU Venture Partners
Venture Partner
Sourced and diligenced investments across frontier, deep tech, and space at a global multi-stage fund; developed investment theses and presented to the Investment Committee. Progressed from Associate to Principal to Venture Partner.
2014 – 2026
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Research Scientist · Group Supervisor · Associate Chief Technologist
Pioneered Signals of Opportunity Reflectometry and led the NASA SNOOPI mission. As JPL's first Associate Chief Technologist, helped shape its frontier-technology investment strategy across AI/ML, climate, and sensing.
2009 – 2013
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Visiting Researcher
Built and verified a software receiver for NASA space communications and ran reflectometry experiments for remote-sensing calibration.
2007 – 2014
Purdue University
PhD, Aeronautics & Astronautics · NASA Fellow
NASA Earth & Space Science Fellow (17% selection). Dissertation on remote sensing using Signals of Opportunity.
Contact
Building something hard?
Tell me what you're building. If you're a founder working on frontier technology across climate, sensing, deep tech, AI/ML, or space, I want to hear about it.
The fastest way to reach me directly is LinkedIn.