Payam is a Visiting Partner on the investing team focused on deep tech investments and Pear’s small-batch accelerator, PearX. 

Prior to Pear, Payam was Founder & CEO of Capella Space,the first American company to launch commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites. Under his leadership, Capella raised over $280M in venture capital and became a global leader in geospatial intelligence, delivering critical, life-saving data to the U.S. government, international allies, and major commercial enterprises. 

Payam holds a master’s degree in Management Science and Engineering (MS&E) from Stanford University and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from The University of Texas at Austin.

Before Capella, Payam was an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where he contributed to multiple NASA missions and received the NASA Mariner Award, NASA Discovery Award, and NASA Formulation Award for his achievements.