Investing Beyond Moore’s Law:
Seed capital for high growth
deep tech companies
About
Early-stage venture capital for semiconductor, photonics, and materials technologies seeking to unlock $1B+ potential.
Blue Sky Capital is an independently controlled, returns-driven venture capital firm. Since 2017, we’ve provided investment capital to help founders get from concept to product-market fit, then scale to unlock their full potential.
We invest in companies who are making advances in the component technology and hardware space, with a focus on electronics, photonics, post-silicon materials, and related manufacturing tech. We have deep ties to Samtec Electronics, a global manufacturer of electronic interconnects, that gives us a strategic advantage – the ability to leverage partnerships and industry expertise, move quickly, and invest with conviction.
Team
Blue Sky Capital is led by Madison Hamman
For each investment opportunity, Madison assembles a team of technical resources from Samtec with experience in the relevant technologies to provide strategic input, drawn from our Samtec and industry relationships.
Before founding BlueSky Capital, Madison began his career at Samtec Inc., a global electronics manufacturer. During his time at Samtec, he launched a startup called Mavizon. Mavizon was incubated at Samtec, allowing the team to utilize the company’s manufacturing and engineering resources. The company closed in 2013, and Madison joined Blue Sky Network, the family office for Samtec’s owners. In 2017, he launched Blue Sky Capital, a dedicated venture fund for the family office.
Madison lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife and three daughters. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Find Madison on LinkedIn.
Ryan Flannery, Venture Partner
Ryan is an experienced deep tech venture investor with more than 15 years working in early-stage, physical sciences-based technologies across industries including materials, optics, sensors, alternative and renewable energy, sustainability, display technology, water tech, biofuels and life sciences.
Currently based in San Francisco, Ryan is a strong believer that compelling technologies can come from anywhere, having also lived in the UK and Ireland as well as NYC, Washington DC and Ohio. Prior to Blue Sky Capital, Ryan spent over 10 years with Corning Silicon Valley focused on venture investing, startup strategic partnerships, fund investment management and leading commercialization of new materials and technologies emerging from Corning’s $1B annual R&D spend. Ryan has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University and an MBA from Georgetown.
Find Ryan on LinkedIn.
Portfolio
Blue Sky Capital provides direct investment in component electronics companies, as well as like minded venture funds.
Direct Investments
Funds
Portfolio News
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Onto Innovation (NYSE: ONTO) acquires Lumina Instruments
NASDAQ -
On Semiconductor (ON) Expands Portfolio With SWIR Acquisition
Yahoo Finance -
Nexus Photonics: Extending the spectrum of fully integrated photonics to submicrometre wavelengths
Nature -
Nvidia, Intel, others pour $130m into optical chip startup Ayar Labs
Uncategorized -
Has LiDAR Arrived?
Forbes -
SWIR Vision Systems Inc. raises $5 million to expand its infrared imaging business
Newswire -
This company uses technology and nature to cut your air conditioning bill
CNN -
SkyCool Systems Awarded $3.5 Million From ARPA-E for Scaling Transformational Energy Technology
Business Wire -
WD Lab Grown Diamonds Acquires J2 Materials, a Pioneering Materials Science Company
Business Wire -
Scientists are tapping into a law of physics to create cooling systems that work without special fuel or electricity
Washington Post -
Ayar raises $35M for optical interconnect tech to overcome computing bottlenecks in the CPU
TechCrunch -
X-ray vision in the warehouse: ThruWave raises $6.4M to help online retailers see through packages
GeekWire -
Mosaic Microsystems Secures $2 Million Seed Round from BlueSky Capital and Corning
Mems Journal -
The super-cool materials that send heat to space
Nature -
Ayar Labs Selected as Optical Solution for Intel’s DARPA PIPES Project
Business Wire