MaC Unpacked 2026

The MaC Venture Capital Team is excited to welcome you to MaC Unpacked 2026, our General Meeting, held at:

The Petersen Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Presenter: Marlon Nichols

Venture capital has outperformed the S&P 500 over every meaningful time horizon – and it will again. Marlon will walk through major economic downturns, the iconic companies born from each one, and the technological shifts that drove recovery – drawing a direct parallel to today’s market. The case is clear: sitting on the sidelines is the riskiest move of all. He’ll cover the return of market liquidity, the IPO pipeline taking shape, and what that means for LP returns. And he’ll make the argument that venture isn’t a follow-the-leader sport – it’s about identifying shifts in technology, regulation, and behavior five years before mass adoption. MaC has done it in space, hard tech, and energy. This is about where MaC is going next.

A detailed look at where the portfolio stands today. The General Partners will walk LPs through performance across active funds – including notable markups, upcoming liquidity events, and key team updates. The session will feature spotlights on standout portfolio companies, with Q&A woven throughout. The team will also share their forward-looking sector thesis – where the puck is going and the emerging categories they believe will define the next decade – along with the targets and strategy for MaC’s fourth fund.

Venture capital remains one of the most powerful – and most debated – asset classes in institutional investing. This panel brings together LPs who have backed MaC across multiple funds to make the case for why venture still belongs in a diversified portfolio, how they think about emerging managers in a crowded market, and why they’ve continued to deploy capital to MaC. Featuring voices from Cambridge Associates, Fairview Capital, and the State of Michigan Treasury, this is a frank conversation about conviction, long-term thinking, and what it really takes to build a GP-LP relationship worth re-upping.

AI is only as valuable as what it actually does. This panel brings together three MaC-backed founders building AI that solves real, specific problems – not AI for the sake of it. Avala is the end-to-end data infrastructure for Physical AI, from collecting and labeling data to training and deploying foundation models. They power everything from self-driving cars to humanoid robots, built on a People-First AI philosophy. Blok uses AI-driven simulation to enhance product development, letting companies test before they build. And Qvyon builds critical AI infrastructure for autonomy and robotics, turning scarce real-world sensor data into scalable datasets for deployment at scale. Three industries, one thesis: the best AI companies don’t just move fast – they move smart.

MaC has been backing the new space economy since the beginning – and the results are speaking for themselves. This panel brings together three of the portfolio’s most advanced deep tech companies, each building critical infrastructure for life above Earth. Stoke Space is rethinking launch entirely, offering on-demand access to space at dramatically lower costs through fully reusable rockets designed for daily flights. Starfish Space builds small space tugs to provide on-demand in-space transportation services – extending satellite life and cleaning up orbital debris. Xona is building the next generation of satellite navigation with Pulsar, the world’s first commercial navigation service in Low Earth Orbit. Three companies. One thesis: the future of civilization runs through space.

AI’s insatiable appetite for compute is pushing the energy grid to its limits. Data centers now rival small cities in power consumption, and the gap between demand and supply is only growing. This panel brings together three founders building at the frontier of energy innovation — from 3D solar towers that generate more power in less space (Janta Power), to AI-native intelligence that acts as a digital analyst for battery portfolios (Powerline), to next-generation isotope enrichment technology fueling the nuclear renaissance (Hexium). A timely conversation on how the companies solving tomorrow’s energy crisis are being built today.

Born and raised in South LA, Issa Rae created and starred in the hit HBO series, INSECURE, which garnered multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, as well as a Peabody Award. Since the success of Insecure, Issa launched HOORAE, a media company aimed at breaking boundaries in storytelling and representation in film, TV, and digital content. She does it all headquartered in South LA, staying true to her roots and uplifting her community. Issa continues to inspire on-screen, appearing in AMERICAN FICTION, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, and BARBIE, while continuing to create groundbreaking stories that champion new voices and authenticity.