Richard Tapalaga

Richard Tapalaga is a Director at Qualcomm Ventures based in San Diego, California, where he oversees technology investments, portfolio management, and strategic growth. Before joining the firm in 2008, he spent over seven years in investment banking, serving as a Vice President at Société Générale and working at Merrill Lynch. He has led more than a dozen investments throughout his venture capital career, resulting in notable exits such as Owlchemy Labs to Google and Earn.com to Coinbase. Tapalaga currently serves as a Board Member at Brain Corp and holds Board Observer roles at companies including Magic Leap and Airspace Technologies. He holds an MBA from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science from New York University. His current investment focus centers on emerging technology sectors, specifically targeting augmented and virtual reality, robotics, and connected devices.