Skip to Content
MIT News magazine

Mark and Annette Siegel

Portola Valley, CA

Mark Siegel’s parents were entrepreneurs. “I admired them,” says Siegel, a venture capitalist. “I was attracted to the idea of doing something risky and independent.”

Mark and Annette Siegel

Siegel earned an MIT bachelor’s degree in physics in 1990 and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 1996. In 1990, he joined Oracle, where he worked for four years in product management and consulting. For the next two years, he worked in business development at the newly founded Netscape Communications. Then he joined Menlo Ventures, one of the oldest and largest venture capital firms in the country. The firm looks for technology startups that can be leaders in emerging markets. “In any entrepreneurial venture, the talent of the team is the most crucial ingredient for success,” he says.

Siegel adds that the world faces many challenges in the coming decades–including environmental and energy problems–and he’s convinced that technology will provide the solutions. “Basic science is important to the future of humanity,” he says. “MIT is the country’s leading institution for science and engineering. And to maintain that leadership, you have to be able to attract the world’s best talent–just like a company.”

He and his wife recently established the Mark and Annette Siegel Fund, an endowed fund to support graduate students in MIT’s physics department. “We wanted to provide an education to the best and brightest people in the world,” he says.

Siegel’s wife, Annette, a plastic surgeon, received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford. The couple enjoys skiing, hiking, and horseback riding.

“Both Annette and I received scholarships in college and graduate school and would not have been able to pursue our educations without them,” Siegel says. “It is rewarding tohelp someone else realize their dream.”

For giving information, contact Kate Eastment:
(617) 452-2812; eastment@mit.edu. Or visit giving.mit.edu.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.

“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.

What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines

New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses.

Human-plus-AI solutions mitigate security threats

With the right human oversight, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence can help keep business and customer data secure

Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation

From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.