Otto Salmi

I grew up in a family of tinkerers who taught me to appreciate the craftsmanship and effort behind the everyday machines and systems around us. This shaped my belief that our hardest problems can be solved by people who break them down to first principles, think across disciplines, and aren't afraid to build something new.

At General Catalyst, I partner with founders building in critical industries, spanning energy, industrials, aerospace and beyond. Through our Global Resilience practice, I help companies match the right capital for their unique growth trajectory across our Venture and Creation strategies as well as our Customer Value Fund.

From my first job on the floor of a metal shop, I became a mechanical engineer at SpaceX, designing propulsion systems for launch vehicles, and later moved to Tesla, working in battery engineering and strategic finance. I graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth, where I studied mechanical engineering and economics and led our local mountain's ski patrol unit. I later earned my MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. Outside of work, you'll find me surfing, biking, skiing, or exploring the California coast with my wife.