# Amir Nashat

> Amir Nashat is an entrepreneur partner at Polaris Partners and a serial founding executive with engineering degrees from Berkeley and MIT. He co-founded Living Proof, served as founding CEO and later board chair of Paratus Sciences, and remains a Paratus director following an August 2026 board transition. His work also includes the CEO role at Soufflé Therapeutics and support for MIT Sandbox, The Engine and the Hertz Foundation.

- **Role:** Entrepreneur Partner at Polaris Partners; CEO at Soufflé Therapeutics; Director at Paratus Sciences
- **Organizations:** Polaris Partners, Paratus Sciences, Soufflé Therapeutics, Living Proof, MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund, The Engine, Hertz Foundation
- **Education:** B.S. in materials science and mechanical engineering, University of California, Berkeley, M.S. in materials science and mechanical engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Sc.D. in chemical engineering, minor in biology; adviser Robert Langer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Co-founder and founding CEO of Living Proof., Founding CEO of Paratus Sciences., Helped conceive and launch MIT Sandbox.

## Career timeline

- **1994** — Selected as a Hertz Fellow.
- **2002** — Joined Polaris.
- **2005** — Co-founded Living Proof and served as founding CEO.
- **2011** — Co-organized a Hertz gathering on mathematics education for girls with Lily Kim.
- **2016** — Helped launch MIT Sandbox; named to the Forbes Midas List.
- **2017** — Named to The Engine investment advisory committee; Unilever completed its Living Proof acquisition on February 1.
- **2023** — Paratus launched publicly with a $100 million Series A and Nashat as founding CEO.
- **2024** — Paratus named Theresa Heah CEO on February 21; Nashat was board chair.
- **2026** — Paratus named Alicia Secor CEO in April. Dhavalkumar Patel succeeded Nashat as chair on August 26; Nashat remained a director.

## Achievements

- Co-founder and founding CEO of Living Proof.
- Founding CEO of Paratus Sciences.
- Helped conceive and launch MIT Sandbox.
- Named to the Forbes Midas List in 2016.
- Selected as a Hertz Fellow in 1994.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Dhavalkumar Patel succeeded Nashat as Paratus board chair; Nashat remained a non-independent director.
- **2026-10** — Scheduled to take part in the October 16 Hertz dialogue dinner with founders Cheri Ackerman Araromi and David Zhang; event was still forthcoming at research date.

## Links

- Website: https://polarispartners.com/partner/amir-nashat/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amir-nashat-73ba3
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/VCAmir

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/amir-nashat
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-13