N. Darius Sankey

N. Darius Sankey, PhD is a general partner at Accelerate-IT Ventures, as well as a seasoned executive in the ventures capital and technology industries. Founded in 2013, AITV is a US-based venture capital firm with offices in San Francisco, La Jolla and London. AITV invest in early-stage and medium-growth IT software companies that demonstrate tremendous opportunities for growth. Dr. Sankey is also a Contract Managing Director responsible for the Innovation Management practice of Ocean Tomo, LLC, an integrated Intellectual Capital Merchant Banc™ firm providing an industry leading array of financial products and services related to intangible assets. In his joint role at AITV and Ocean Tomo Dr. Sankey takes on the responsibility of managing the development of new technology ecosystems. Ocean Tomo assists clients – corporations, law firms, governments and institutional investors – in realizing Intellectual Capital Equity® value. Ocean Tomo Capital, LLC – is the publisher of the Ocean Tomo 300® Patent Index (NYSE: OTPAT) and the founder of Intellectual Property Exchange International, Inc. Prior to joining Ocean Tomo and AITV, Dr. Sankey was the Senior Director of Portfolio Management at Intellectual Venture, where his responsibilities involved managing the Investment Strategy, acquisitions, divestitures and developing licensing programs for the Invention Investment Fund. Prior to Intellectual Ventures, Dr. Sankey served as a Managing Director at Zone Ventures, where he lead its technology assessment efforts and managed its portfolio investments for over ten years. While at Zone Ventures Dr. Sankey led several transactions in the micro electronics, wireless telecommunications, media & entertainment, and business & consumer software. He also served as a board member for several companies including Siimpel Corporation, Lumexis, Inc. and Microfabrica and Neven Vision (acquired by Google). Before his tenure at Zone Ventures, Dr. Sankey worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, Inc. and held strategic planning, consulting, and R&D positions at RAND and AT&T Bell Laboratories. Dr. Sankey is a lecturer at the Rady School of Business at the University of California – San Diego (UCSD). He has served on National Academy of Science Committees to study issues relating to managing university intellectual property, and the impact of optical technology on the national economy. He holds B.S. degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from MIT and a Ph.D. in Optical Engineering from University of Rochester.