Chris Picardo
Chris Picardo is a Partner at Madrona Venture Group and serves as a board member or observer for several companies including Aizen Therapeutics, Archon Biosciences, Knock, and Ovation.io. He previously worked as an investor at Madrona Venture Group, a business analyst at McKinsey & Company, and held finance and analyst roles at Rockets of Awesome and MD Sass.
Insurtech Faye raises $50M led by Madrona, bringing total funding to $100M as it scales AI and international growth
Faye, a Richmond-based travel insurance app, raised $50 million led by Madrona, bringing its total funding to $100 million since 2022 to scale AI, expand internationally, and improve claims and UX; the company reported millions of customers and $100 million in annualized revenue last year. Co-founder and CEO Elad Schaffer called the raise a shift from startup to scale-up as Faye pursues growth toward a possible future IPO.
Faye Raises $50M Series C on Aug 5, 2026 to Build Autonomous AI Traveler Care Platform, Total Funding Reaches $100M
Faye announced a $50 million Series C on Aug 5, 2026 to build an autonomous AI platform for traveler care, bringing total funding to $100 million and funding AI investments, partnerships, and global expansion.
Curt Medeiros on Revolutionizing Precision Medicine and Scaling Ovation
Imagine a future where healthcare isn't just reactive but deeply personalized — where every patient gets the right treatment at the right time based on a precise understanding of their biology. This is the future Ovation is building, and on this week's Founded & Funded, Madrona Partner Chris Picardo dives into it all with Ovation CEO Curt Medeiros. From transforming underutilized clinical data into rich multiomics datasets to forging industry-leading partnerships with companies like Illumina, Curt shares how Ovation is shaping the future of precision medicine. He also opens up about the challenges of building a scalable, privacy-first platform, the…
By Chris
See all 5Palantir Alum Explains How AI is Used and Bought by the Federal Government
Nick LaRovere spent years at Palantir before co-founding Pryzm with friends, including a Lockheed Martin alum. And in this episode of Founded & Funded, Nick shares his inside account of how AI is actually being adopted inside the federal government, and what it takes to sell technology into that market. Pryzm is an AI-powered intelligence engine for government business development: it aggregates data across CRMs, email, Slack, and public procurement sources to help companies win contracts. Nick's argument is that by the time an opportunity appears on SAM.gov, the deal is already decided. In this episode, Madrona Partner Chris Picardo…
Building AI That Sells: Scaling Smarter with Luminance CEO Eleanor Lightbody
Entrepreneurs often ask: When do I know it's time to scale? Or, how do I lead when I wasn't the original founder? In this week's Founded & Funded, Madrona Partner Chris Picardo sits down with Eleanor Lightbody, CEO of Luminance, who shares how she took a promising AI product and built a company culture, go-to-market motion, and product strategy that's scaled 6x in just two years. Eleanor's candor and tactical insights on hiring, selling, and navigating founder dynamics make this a must-listen. Transcript: https://www.madrona.com/building-ai-that-sells-scaling-smarter-with-luminance-ceo-eleanor-lightbody/ Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (01:29) Eleanor's Career Journey (03:22) Joining Luminance and Initial Challenges (05:46) Navigating CEO…
Archon's Jamie Lazarovits on Unlocking the Full Power of Antibodies With AI
What does it take to move from cutting-edge academic research to launching a biotech company that could transform medicine? In this week's episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Partner Chris Picardo sat down with Jamie Lazarovitz, CEO and co-founder of Archon Biosciences, to uncover the story behind their groundbreaking protein-based biologics and their unique Antibody Cages (AbCs). From bootstrapping deep tech investments as a student to navigating the challenges of commercializing revolutionary science, Jamie shares the pivotal moments, tough decisions, and key lessons that led to Archon's creation. This isn't just a story for biotech enthusiasts — every founder can…
Organizations
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Aizen Therapeutics Board Member 2024–present · current
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Institute for Protein Design Board Observer 2024–present · current
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Stealth Biotech Board Member 2024–present · current
Education
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Williams College Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Mathematics and English · 2009–2013
