Rick Grinnell

Rick Grinnell is the Founder and Managing Partner of Glasswing Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on investing in AI-enabled security and enterprise infrastructure startups.12 With over 23 years of experience in the venture capital industry, Grinnell has established himself as a prominent investor in the fields of security, storage, analytics, and SaaS applications.1

Career Highlights

Education and Early Career: Rick Grinnell holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.13 He began his career in the tech industry, working as a senior engineer and marketing manager at companies like PictureTel and ClearOne Communications.3

Venture Capital Experience: Before founding Glasswing Ventures in 2016, Grinnell served as Managing Director at Fairhaven Capital Partners for 9 years.3 Throughout his career, he has led investments in numerous successful companies, including:

• EqualLogic (acquired by Dell for $1.4 billion)
• Resilient Systems (acquired by IBM)
• Prelert (acquired by Elastic)
• VeloBit (acquired by Western Digital)13

Current Role and Investments

At Glasswing Ventures, Grinnell leads investments in AI-enabled security and enterprise infrastructure startups.2 He currently serves on the Board of Directors for several companies, including:

• Allure Security
• Black Kite
• Flux
• Lambent
• Nametag
• Realm Security
• Trustle1

Additional Roles and Contributions

Beyond his work at Glasswing Ventures, Rick Grinnell is actively involved in various educational and community initiatives:

• Member of the Educational Council at MIT
• Venture Advisor at Harvard's Rock Center for Entrepreneurship
• Board Member of MIT Sandbox and MIT iHQ Mentor
• Member of the Board of the Advanced Cyber Security Center
• Previously served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Advisors at the Museum of Science in Boston1

Rick Grinnell's extensive experience in venture capital, combined with his technical background and involvement in the startup ecosystem, has established him as a respected figure in the AI and cybersecurity investment landscape.