Alex Taussig

Alex first discovered the joys of writing software in 7th grade, when he wrote his first computer program in LogoWriter. Since then, Alex has been obsessed with the cutting edge of technology, working in fields as diverse as solid state physics, bioinformatics, computer vision and optical computing. He invests in early stage software companies that distribute their products through developer ecosystems, ultimately targeting both consumer and business users.

Alex has sourced Highland's investments in BetterLesson, RentJuice (acquired by Zillow, NASDAQ:Z), Talaria (acquired by Google, NASDAQ:GOOG), thredUP and several others yet to be disclosed. He has also provided support for Highland's investments in Bit9, QD Vision, Rethink Robotics and Vertica (acquired by HP, NASDAQ:HPQ), amongst others. In addition, Alex leads the Summer@Highland entrepreneurship program, which over its six-year history has mentored more than 40 student-led startups from inception, including Cloudflare, Gemvara and Wildfire (acquired by Google, NASDAQ:GOOG).

Prior to Highland, Alex studied physics at Harvard College, where he graduated summa cum laude, with highest honors in his concentration. He then received an MS in materials engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was part of a research group building a computer that ran on light, instead of electricity. His research results were published in several notable peer-reviewed journals, including Physical Review B, Journal of Applied Physics and IEEE Transactions on Magnetics.

Alex also received an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar, an honor given to the top 5% of the graduating class. In addition, Alex spent time at RockPort Capital Partners, a venture capital firm focused on energy and materials technology, and McKinsey & Company, where he provided strategic advice to the Fortune 50 on business technology issues.

Alex is an inaugural member of the Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum, a group of leaders under the age of 30 charged with catalyzing positive social change in their respective communities. He lives in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, but is just as often found taking culinary adventures into the Mission.