Mark Cupta

Mark is a Principal with Prelude Ventures, having joined the firm in 2013 upon completion of his MBA at Stanford University. During his MBA program, Mark worked at early-stage investment firm Terawatt Ventures, as a member of the corporate venture capital team at Chevron Technology Ventures, and with sustainable chemistry growth start-up Novomer. Prior to business school, Mark spent more than five years with Celanese Corporation, a Fortune 500 company specializing in advanced materials and technology. Mark held a number of technical roles in new product development, application development, and process design, as well as commercial roles in technical marketing and business strategy. He was recognized for developing the company's most innovative new application of the year and the most creative value-pricing strategy. Mark serves on the board of directors for Citrine and Benson Hill Biosystems and actively manages the firm’s investments in Arvegenix, MineSense, Pivot Bio, PLANT PV, polySpectra, Renew Financial, and Zymergen. He also serves as a mentor for the Stanford GSB Impact Labs Program, as well as for NREL, InvestMidwest, and the Energy Excelerator. Mark received a BS and MS in Chemical & Bio-molecular Engineering from Georgia Tech, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he specialized in venture capital and entrepreneurship and was Co-President for the Challenge for Charity (largest MBA run non-profit organization.) Mark has authored patents and publications in a wide variety of technologies, including microelectronics, non-woven polymeric materials, cementitious additives, polymeric barrier-layers, controlled release pharmaceuticals, and pulp & paper additives.