Weston Waldo, MBA is a visionary educator, entrepreneur, and investor with a proven track record in advancing DeepTech startup ecosystems in both rural and urban settings. He began his career as an Associate at Benchmark Private Equity, conducting due diligence on projects ranging from $10M to $50M and facilitating capital raising from major financial institutions like Deutsche Bank and Barclays. Currently, Weston serves as the Director and Assistant Director at The University of Texas at Austin's Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) and the newly funded $15M NSF I-Corps Southwest Region Hub. He also plays a key role within UT Austin’s Discovery to Impact department, which has produced 76 startups, brought 156 products and services to market, raised $1.03 billion in funding, created 4,785 jobs, and generated $75 billion in product and service sales since FY2021. ATI, the nation’s longest-running active technology incubator, has graduated over 300 companies, generating more than $3 billion in economic impact, including 10 IPOs and 50+ mergers and acquisitions.
Weston is also an NSF Regional/National I-Corps Certified Core Instructor, having led 12 National I-Corps and 100+ Regional I-Corps cohorts, trained over 1,800 teams, and endorsed 400+ teams for acceptance into the NSF National I-Corps program. His expertise and strategic vision continue to drive advancements in the startup ecosystem and venture development at both the local and national levels.