Cassandra Carothers is the Managing Partner of Departure Capital, where she invests in category-defining frontier tech companies that are addressing humanity's biggest existential risks and opportunities. Investing across critical infrastructure of Earth and beyond, climate, and health, she has backed companies including Privateer (space-based data infrastructure platform), Orbillion (premium cultivated meat), Endiatx (robotic capsule endoscopy), NodeQ (quantum-secure software-defined overlay networking), Maxterial (better, cheaper, non-toxic replacement for hexavalent chromium coating), and Meliora (carbon offset verification and marketplace).

 

Previously, she led global deep tech investments for Upheaval Investments of Chicago and San Francisco, a family office-backed fund focused on funding massive companies with advanced underlying technologies. Cassandra's background prior to venture spans technical sales, business development, strategy, and operations. She leverages a global perspective and network, having lived and worked across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East regions (U.S., Mexico, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, and UAE).