Investment Focus
Companies
Marissa Ramirez de Chanlatte is a deep tech investor and researcher focused on transformative frontier technologies. At Playground Global, she invests across quantum computing, next-generation compute architectures, AI, and robotics. She leads Playground’s Genesis Fund, where she directs the firm’s quantum and advanced compute investment strategy and partnerships in New Mexico.
She began her career in high performance computing and computational neutronics, modeling nuclear reactors on the Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She then joined the Applied Numerical Algorithms Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, bridging traditional HPC and numerical methods with state-of-the-art AI. Her work in modeling uncertainty in 3D geometry underpins a multi-year research grant that she continues to advise on, researching applications of 3D computer vision in computational physics.
In addition to her investment and research work, Marissa co-founded an AI startup with her Ph.D. advisor and labmates, serving as COO and leading early commercialization efforts. This experience informs her commitment to helping students and professors translate foundational research into enduring technology companies.
Marissa earned her Ph.D. in Computational & Data Science from University of California, Berkeley, conducting her doctoral research in the Berkeley AI Research Lab and the Applied Numerical Methods Group, where she focused on computer vision, simulation, and scientific machine learning. She also holds a Master’s in Nuclear Engineering and a Bachelor’s in Pure Mathematics from Berkeley.