Russ Wilcox is a co-founder and partner at Pillar VC, a seed-stage venture firm in Boston. See portfolio, sector focus and contact routes.
Russ Wilcox is a co-founder and partner at Pillar VC, a seed-stage venture firm in Boston, where he leverages 20 years of startup operating experience as the former founder and CEO of E Ink, which commercialized electronic paper and was acquired for $500 million. His investment thesis focuses on seed-stage companies, often from formation or pre-incorporation, with a primary emphasis on machine intelligence—including AI, machine learning, robotics, and AR/VR—as well as privacy, blockchain, cybersecurity, and web decentralization. Wilcox typically invests $500,000 to $2 million in a first check, syndicates with other investors, and is willing to lead or follow depending on the situation, rarely investing beyond the early stage. Notable portfolio companies include Trellis Air, a startup he recently founded, and ventures backed by Boston unicorn founders from Wayfair, DraftKings, and Ginkgo Bioworks who serve as co-investors and advisors. He also invests across industries enabled by data, science, and technology, including proptech, computing, biotechnology, consumer, hardware, and blockchain gaming. Wilcox has authored articles on TechCrunch and contributed to Har
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