Meet the Founders

PAUL JACOBS

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Paul E. Jacobs, Ph.D., founded XCOM in 2018 to #keepinventing and to invest with the world’s most creative engineers and businesspeople.

DEREK ABERLE

Vice Chairman, President & COO

Derek K. Aberle, co-founder and vice chairman, oversees XCOM’s strategy, business development, investment activity and operations.

MATT GROB

Chief Technology Officer

Matt Grob, chief technology officer of XCOM, is responsible for XCOM Labs, which develops innovative wireless technologies.

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

PAUL JACOBS

Paul E. Jacobs, Ph.D., founded XCOM in 2018 to #keepinventing and to invest with the world’s most creative engineers and businesspeople.

As former chief executive officer and executive chairman of Qualcomm, Dr. Jacobs spearheaded its efforts to develop and commercialize fundamental mobile technology breakthroughs that fueled the wireless internet and smartphone revolutions. During his tenure as CEO, Qualcomm’s revenues quadrupled and its market capitalization doubled. Dr. Jacobs is a prolific inventor with over 80 U.S. patents granted or pending in the field of wireless technology and devices.

He served as a director of Qualcomm from June 2005 to March 2018, including as chairman of the board of directors from March 2009 to March 2018, and as executive chairman from March 2014 to March 2018. He served as chief executive officer from July 2005 to March 2014, and as group president of Qualcomm Wireless & Internet from July 2001 to July 2005. In addition, he served as an executive vice president of Qualcomm from February 2000 to June 2005.

Dr. Jacobs is a director of Dropbox, Inc., FIRST, and Heal, a private technology enabled medical care company. He is an owner and vice chairman of the Sacramento Kings, who compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a B.S. in electrical engineering and computer science, M.S. in electrical engineering, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science. He founded Berkeley’s Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation and was the university’s 2017 Alumnus of the Year. Dr. Jacobs is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Vice Chairman, President & COO

DEREK ABERLE

Derek K. Aberle, co-founder, president and chief operating officer of XCOM, oversees XCOM’s strategy, business development, investment activity and operations. He previously spent 17 years at Qualcomm, including as president from March 2014 to January 2018. He served as a member of Qualcomm’s executive committee beginning in 2008, executive vice president and group president from November 2011 to March 2014 and executive vice president and president of Qualcomm Technology Licensing from September 2008 to November 2011. He was responsible for driving Qualcomm’s global strategy and overseeing its business units, international markets and marketing functions. Mr. Aberle also oversaw many of Qualcomm’s global growth initiatives, including its datacenter unit and its expansion in China. He also led Qualcomm’s technology and IP licensing business through a period of strong growth, established its 4G licensing program, and structured and negotiated Qualcomm’s major license and other strategic agreements.

Mr. Aberle holds a B.A. in business economics from University of California, Santa Barbara, and a J.D. from University of San Diego School of Law. He is a board member for the Alliance for SoCal Innovation and EvoNexus (a Southern California incubator).

Chief Technology Officer

MATTHEW S. GROB

Matt Grob, chief technology officer of XCOM, is responsible for XCOM Labs, which develops innovative wireless technologies. Matt previously spent over 26 years at Qualcomm in technology and engineering leadership roles. He served as Qualcomm’s EVP and CTO from 2011 to 2017, overseeing R&D and managing a global team of 2,200 employees across various divisions worldwide, and later as EVP/Technology.

Mr. Grob holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Bradley University and a M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He is a trustee of the Fleet Science Center in San Diego, and a volunteer for over a decade at FIRST, the robotics and education organization inspiring future leaders in science and technology.

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