John Chen

John earned his BS in physics, PhD in materials science and engineering, and an MBA from MIT. 

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John serves on the Commercialization Advisory Board for Oregon Built Environment & Sustainability Technologies (BEST), is an active mentor to several startups through the MIT Venture Mentoring Service, and is a long-time member of the Materials Research Society.

John is a Managing General Partner and Co-Founder of Phoenix Venture Partners (PVP) and brings over 25 years of experience in venture capital, startups, industry, and R&D to his work. His current investments at PVP include Senova Systems, Vixar, Imprint Energy, and NBD Nanotechnologies. 

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Previously, John was a Kauffman Fellow at Battery Ventures, where he formulated Battery's advanced materials strategy, sourced over 1,200 investment opportunities, led and managed several investments with applications in IT and cleantech (Lion Cells, Stonybrook Purification, and Nanoconduction (acquired)), and managed several of the firm's corporate partnerships. John began his venture career at DFJ New England and Navigator Technology Ventures in Boston. 

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Before venture, John held leadership roles in business, technology, and product development at several startups and leading corporations in the advanced materials sector, including Luminus Devices, EM Logix, Surface Logix, and Raychem (acquired). He also led advanced materials technology scouting and business development in the areas of energy storage, fuel cells, photonics, self-assembly and, more broadly, nanotechnology in the Advanced Technology and Business Development Group at Tyco Electronics, following its acquisition of Raychem. He is the holder of three US patents.

John served his fellowship under the mentorship of Ken Lawler at Battery Ventures as a member of Fellows Class 10.