Mar Hershenson

Mar Hershenson: Pioneering Venture Capitalist and Electrical Engineer

Mar Hershenson is a co-founder and Managing Partner at Pear VC, a seed-stage venture firm in Palo Alto that has backed successful companies like Guardant Health, Doordash, Gusto, and Branch.14 She is a Spanish-American venture capitalist, electrical engineer, professor, and business executive recognized for her contributions to the electronic design automation industry.2

Education and Career Highlights

• Earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, where she developed a groundbreaking technique for optimizing analog semiconductor design134
• Co-founded three startups in mobile/ecommerce, enterprise software and semiconductor industries, registering 14 patents14
• Served as Vice President of Product Development at Magma Design Automation after they acquired her startup Sabio Labs2
• Taught as a Consulting Professor at Stanford for nearly a decade, lecturing on analog circuit design and entrepreneurship4

Awards and Recognition

• Ranked #29 on Forbes' Midas List of Top Tech Investors in 202125
• Recipient of the Marie R. Pistilli Women in EDA Achievement Award in 201025
• Named a Top Innovator Under 35 by MIT Technology Review and a Champion of Innovation by Fast Company45

Community Involvement

• Serves on the Board of Trustees of Harvey Mudd College and the Advisory Board of Carnegie Mellon University's ECE department4
• Founded Equity Summit, a premier conference connecting underrepresented minority VCs with LPs, and is a founding member of All Raise4

Mar Hershenson's impressive technical background, entrepreneurial experience, and passion for teaching have made her a pioneering force in the venture capital industry. Her leadership at Pear VC and involvement in the startup ecosystem continue to drive innovation.