Fen Zhao is a venture investor and Head of Data Science at Alpha Edison with 17 years of experience bridging deep technical research, public policy, and early-stage investing in AI and data-driven technologies. Trained as a physicist (BS MIT, PhD Stanford in computational astrophysics), Fen moved from research and risk consulting into federal science policy at the NSF and the White House, leading programs for big data hubs and secure, trustworthy cyberspace. At Alpha Edison she applies rigorous quantitative evaluation and domain expertise to source and scale deep tech startups, translating complex research into investable product and go-to-market strategies. Her background in national science programs gives her uncommon insight into federal funding pathways and commercialization of government-supported R&D. Based in Los Angeles, she combines academic rigor with practical dealcraft and a track record of shaping interdisciplinary tech ecosystems.
16 years of coding experience
6 years of employment as a software developer
BS, Physics, Mathematics (Computer Science), BS, Physics, Mathematics (Computer Science) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PhD, Applied Physics (Computational Astrophysics), PhD, Applied Physics (Computational Astrophysics) at Stanford University
Find and Hire Top DevelopersWe’ve analyzed the programming source code of over 60 million software developers on GitHub and scored them by 50,000 skills. Sign-up on Prog,AI to search for software developers.