# Eileen Tanghal

> Eileen Tanghal is the Founder and General Partner of Black Opal Ventures, a women-led early-stage venture capital firm based in New York investing at the intersection of healthcare and frontier technology. With over 20 years of VC experience spanning corporate venture (Applied Ventures, ARM Holdings), national security investing (In-Q-Tel), and European VC (Amadeus Capital, Kennet Partners), she co-founded Black Opal in 2021 alongside Dr. Tara Bishop - a friend of 30 years from their days as MIT engineering students. The firm raised a $58M debut fund with backing from Eli Lilly, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan, and invests in companies using AI, bioengineering, and advanced computing to reshape how healthcare is delivered and who can access it.

- **Role:** Founder and General Partner at Black Opal Ventures
- **Organizations:** Black Opal Ventures, In-Q-Tel, ARM Holdings, Applied Ventures (Applied Materials), Kennet Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners, The Karman Project, IEEE, Wilson Center, Falkonry (Advisor)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, minor in Economics, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), MBA, London Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Black Opal Ventures, raising $58M debut fund backed by Eli Lilly, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, and Atlantic Health System, Instrumental in informing the CHIPS Act, signed into law August 2022 - began advising government on semiconductor policy in 2019, Led $250M investment portfolio at Applied Ventures (Applied Materials) covering ~50 companies across semiconductors, solar, display, and life sciences

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Joined PDF Solutions as one of the first engineering team members; company focused on semiconductor design for manufacturing (DFM) and digital twins of manufacturing processes
- **1999** — Joined AllAdvantage as Product Manager (internet advertising startup)
- **2002** — PDF Solutions completed successful IPO
- **2003** — Joined Amadeus Capital Partners (London) as junior investment team member after completing MBA at London Business School
- **2005** — Joined Kennet Partners as Director
- **2007** — Joined Applied Ventures (Applied Materials' CVC arm) as Managing Director, leading $250M portfolio of ~50 companies across semiconductors, solar, display, life sciences
- **2014** — Named to Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist; recognized for leadership at Applied Ventures
- **2015** — Joined ARM Holdings as VP of New Business Ventures, responsible for investments and acquisitions
- **2016** — Named #6 in Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars Awards
- **2017** — Joined In-Q-Tel as Senior Partner and Managing Director, investing in AI, compute, and communications for US Intelligence and Defense communities
- **2019** — Began advising government leaders on semiconductor policy
- **2021** — Co-founded Black Opal Ventures with Dr. Tara Bishop
- **2022** — Black Opal Ventures held first closing of debut fund in February; CHIPS Act signed into law in August 2022 - Tanghal's policy work helped inform the legislation
- **2023** — Black Opal Ventures raised $58M for debut healthtech fund (November); Eileen served as panelist at ViVE 2023 on health equity
- **2025** — Black Opal Ventures released Annual Impact Report (May 2025) highlighting portfolio companies and health equity metrics

## Achievements

- Co-founded Black Opal Ventures, raising $58M debut fund backed by Eli Lilly, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, and Atlantic Health System
- Instrumental in informing the CHIPS Act, signed into law August 2022 - began advising government on semiconductor policy in 2019
- Led $250M investment portfolio at Applied Ventures (Applied Materials) covering ~50 companies across semiconductors, solar, display, and life sciences
- Named #6 in Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars Awards (2016)
- Named to Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist (2014)
- Led strategic investments at In-Q-Tel including Cerebras, Mythic, EdgeQ, and Twist Bioscience
- Served on boards of 40+ high-tech startups in the US and Europe over 20+ year career
- ImpactAssets 50 inclusion for Black Opal Ventures
- MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories - Keynote Speaker (MARC 2023)
- Black Opal Ventures scored nearly 70% women applicants for positions - attributed to visibility of women-led firm

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Black Opal Ventures released its Annual Impact Report highlighting portfolio companies solving healthcare's complex challenges with frontier technology
- **2025-01** — Featured in CSQ (C-Suite Quarterly) article 'How Two Sorority Sisters Launched a Healthcare Venture Capital Firm'
- **2023-11** — Black Opal Ventures announced closing of $58M debut healthtech fund with investors including Eli Lilly, Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Atlantic Health System
- **2023-03** — Served as panelist at ViVE 2023 discussing the business case of health equity
- **2023-03** — Delivered keynote at MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories MARC 2023

## Links

- Website: https://blackopalventures.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/etanghal
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/etanghalVC
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eileen.tanghal

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/eileen-tanghal
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-19