🌱🤝🌍 Nicolas Sauvage

Founder

San Jose, California, United States28 yrs 2 mos experience

Highly Stable

Key Highlights

Led TDK Ventures with $500M AUM.
Supported visionary entrepreneurs globally.
Recognized as LinkedIn Top Voice.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Venture Capital expert focused on hardtech and deeptech innovation.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Corporate Venture CapitalVenture CapitalSales ManagementProduct ManagementBusiness DevelopmentSpectrum ManagementDsp Development

Other Skills

LeadershipStart-upsInnovation ManagementAccount ManagementC++AssemblerInspiring teamsStrategic PartnershipsStrategyBusiness StrategyLean StartupProduct MarketingPre-salesSoftware DevelopmentIoT

About

As President of TDK Ventures, I have the privilege of supporting some of the world’s most visionary entrepreneurs—founders building technologies & solutions that can transform industries, accelerate decarbonization, and create lasting impact. My own journey into venture began at Stanford in 2018, where I first understood the potential for corporate venture capital (CVC) to become more than just strategic—it could be a force for scaling impact scalers. That belief led to the founding of TDK Ventures in 2019, where we now manage $500M across 4 funds, focused on hardtech and deeptech innovation. What drives me is not just investing in promising startups, but helping them thrive with patient capital, global industry access, and the kind of operational support that turns bold ideas into reality. If you're a founder solving hard problems or a CVC looking to build a model that truly works, I share lessons and insights here and through the Corporate Venturing Insider podcast. Entrepreneurs, you can also reach our investment team at tdk-ventures.com/contact – check out our introduction first at https://tdk-ventures.com/intro.

Experience

Global corporate venturing

Chair

Jan 2026 – Present · 2 mos · Global

As Chair, I serve the Society’s mission to advance the craft, credibility, and impact of corporate venturing worldwide. My focus is on strengthening practitioner-to-practitioner learning, elevating thought leadership, and fostering a values-driven community that helps corporate venturing organizations become long-term catalysts for innovation, entrepreneurship, and societal progress.

Kauffman fellows

Fellow

Jun 2023 – Present · 2 yrs 9 mos

Class 28. Recipient of the Jeff Timmons Award, recognizing service, community, and a commitment to something larger than oneself.
The Kauffman Fellows Program, established in 1995, seeks to develop the next generation of purpose-driven venture capital investors by providing them with the skills, the network, and an enhanced awareness of their life’s mission and legacy in order to support entrepreneurs in an increasingly uncertain world.

Tdk ventures

President

Apr 2019 – Present · 6 yrs 11 mos · Bay Area

TDK Ventures is a $500M AUM technology-focused venture capital firm, investing globally in early-stage startups that leverages fundamental material science to unlock an attractive and sustainable future for the world. TDK Ventures goal is to help every start-up we invest in to achieve their full potential for positive world impact. More at https://www.tdk-ventures.com

LeadershipCorporate Venture CapitalVenture CapitalStart-upsInnovation ManagementBusiness Development

Various companies

Board Member

Apr 2019 – Present · 6 yrs 11 mos

ANYbotics: Observer Board Member: Sept 2025 - present
Glimpse: Board Member: January 2025 - present
Faction: Board Member: Sept 2023 - March 2026
Virewirx: Board Member: Sept 2023 - present
(XCOM: Observer Board Member: May 2022 - Sept 2023 -> Virewirx)
Sagence AI (Analog Inference): Observer Board Member: May 2021 - present
Metalenz: Observer Board Member: Sept 2020 - present
Autoflight: Board Member: Feb 2020 - present
TDK Ventures: Board Member & President: Apr 2019 - present

Tdk

Sr. Director Ecosystem

Aug 2016 – Dec 2020 · 4 yrs 4 mos · San Francisco Bay Area

Responsible for all strategic relationships with our ecosystem partners in Mobile and IoT.
TDK completed acquisition of InvenSense in May 2017.

Nxp software

Worldwide Sales Director

Feb 2011 – Aug 2016 · 5 yrs 6 mos · Taiwan

2011-2016: Member of management team, responsible for worldwide sales.
2012-2013: Added P&L and Product Management ownership for OEM Business Line, that ultimately grew to become the only Business Line in NXP Software.

Sales ManagementProduct ManagementBusiness Development

Openplug

VP Sales (last position)

Dec 2005 – Feb 2011 · 5 yrs 2 mos · Taiwan

Feb 2010 ~ Feb 2011: VP Sales. Responsible for worldwide business development.
Nov 2008 ~ Feb 2011: GM Asia. Responsible for BD, operations and local recruitment in Asia.
Dec 2005 ~ Oct 2008: Sales Director Asia: Responsible for the business development in Asia.

Sales ManagementBusiness Development

Ttpcom

Product Manager

Nov 2000 – Dec 2005 · 5 yrs 1 mo · UK then Taiwan

Oct 2003 ~ Dec 2005: Product Marketing Manager. From July 2005: Product Manager in Taipei.
Dec 2001 ~ Oct 2003: Product Manager for a software mobile gaming platform called b’ngo.
Nov 2000 ~ Fev 2002: Standards coordinator. Also Account Manager for Mobile OEM ZTE.

Product ManagementAccount Management

Bt

Spectrum Management - ITU/CEPT/ETSI

Feb 1998 – Nov 2000 · 2 yrs 9 mos · UK

Lead complex technical negotiations in ITU meetings on radio spectrum, supported by C++ software solutions I developed, ultimately negotiating on UK's behalf at WRC-2000.

Spectrum ManagementC++

Siemens - munich

DSP developper

Jun 1997 – Dec 1997 · 6 mos · Germany · On-site

Internship. Developed in assembler code a novel algorithm calculating temperatures from Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensors on ADI's DSP-21020.
4 months total: June~Aug & Dec 1997.

DSP DevelopmentAssembler