# Reid Williams

> Reid Williams is a venture partner at IDEO CoLab Ventures and co-founder of WE3, a Web3 design collective. With a PhD in biophysics from UCSF (from Wendell Lim's renowned lab) and bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science and electrical engineering from MIT, he bridges science, engineering, and product design. Previously, he led the AI portfolio at IDEO CoLab, headed design and product engineering at Kindred, and served as head of product at Computable Labs. He also mentors early-stage biotech founders at IndieBio.

- **Role:** Venture Partner at IDEO CoLab Ventures; Co-Founder of WE3
- **Organizations:** IDEO CoLab Ventures, WE3, IndieBio, Computable Labs, Kindred, IDEO, Sun Microsystems
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's and Master's in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), PhD in Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
- **Known for:** Co-founded WE3, which received a grant from NEAR Foundation to build a platform for DAOs, Led the AI portfolio at IDEO CoLab, one of Silicon Valley's premier innovation studios, Published thought leadership on blockchain, IoT, and decentralized systems through IDEO CoLab Medium

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Software partnership manager at Sun Microsystems
- **Graduate school** — PhD research in Wendell Lim's lab at UCSF, using synthetic biology to understand cell signaling
- **Post-PhD** — Bioscience resident at IDEO, combining science, engineering, and product design
- **Mid-career** — Head of Design and Product Engineering at Kindred (AI/robotics company)
- **Mid-career** — Head of Product at Computable Labs
- **2015-present** — Led AI portfolio at IDEO CoLab, focusing on emerging technologies and rapid prototyping
- **Present** — Venture Partner at IDEO CoLab Ventures, investing in early-stage tech companies
- **Present** — Co-Founder of WE3, a Web3 design collective investing creative capital in startups
- **Present** — Mentor at IndieBio, supporting early-stage biotech founders

## Achievements

- Co-founded WE3, which received a grant from NEAR Foundation to build a platform for DAOs
- Led the AI portfolio at IDEO CoLab, one of Silicon Valley's premier innovation studios
- Published thought leadership on blockchain, IoT, and decentralized systems through IDEO CoLab Medium
- Bridged synthetic biology research with commercial product design as bioscience resident at IDEO
- Trained under Wendell Lim, one of the world's leading synthetic biologists
- Built expertise across computer science, electrical engineering, biophysics, and venture capital
- Serves as mentor at IndieBio, the world's leading biotech accelerator
- Active participant in Web3 and decentralized technology communities

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — IDEO CoLab Ventures made its latest investment in RockSolid, a financial software company
- **2026-05** — Continues as Venture Partner at IDEO CoLab Ventures and Co-Founder of WE3

## Links

- Website: https://we3.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hello-reidw
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/_reidw_

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/reid-williams
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-04