Spring 2025
“I love creating things of consequence.
I think it’s a rewarding way to lead your life.”
That belief has forged the future of Adam Beal (MBA ’16). Now a principal with R3i Ventures, a global venture capital firm focused on technologies related to areas such as climate, healthcare and applied AI, Beal first filed a patent for an exercise and rehabilitation device in 2014. He partnered with a small firm to begin production of his device, but when that firm was awarded a large contract to design part of the James Webb Space Telescope, his project was relegated to the back burner. Soon after he was offered a role with General Motors, and he chose to abandon his project.
He learned an important lesson in entrepreneurship. “One of the hardest things to do as an entrepreneur is to walk away. Focus is important. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should,” Beal says.
A native of Colorado Springs, Beal earned a degree in microbiology at Colorado State in 2008. With a passion for science and engineering, he anticipated having a career in medical research or nanotechnology. Unfortunately, the poor economy prevented him from finding a job in his field, so he started a car dealership instead. He built the company from the ground up, eventually closing with more than $5 million in sales.
Wanting to increase his knowledge of management and to expand his opportunities, Beal decided it was time to pursue an MBA. He was admitted to several top universities, but Purdue provided the most alluring choice.
“I loved the balance Purdue offered from a business education and engineering standpoint. This hunch turned out to be correct, and advancing in my career as both a management and technology professional has paid dividends,” he says.
Beal made the most of his time as an MBA student. He was president of the Purdue Graduate Entrepreneurship Club, vice president of professional development for the Consulting Club, and a graduate assistant for the Launching Global Leaders program. He connected with a West Lafayette startup company, Vibronix, and became vice president of finance.
Now located in Boston, Vibronix was founded by Professor Ji-Xin Cheng and doctoral student Pu Wang. Vibronix develops advanced imaging and sensing technologies for disease diagnosis and treatment. Beal was a driving force in its early business planning, financial projections and strategy.
Vibronix competed nationally in startup pitch competitions, becoming multi-time national finalists, and winning first place in the Purdue InnovateHer competition and third place in the Burton D. Morgan Business Plan Competition. Beal was invited to the White House in 2016 based on the company’s performance.
“I loved the balance Purdue offered from a business education and engineering standpoint.”
“I got a lot from that experience,” Beal says. "Purdue provided me a platform to compete in top pitch competitions and an opportunity to build my brand and grow my experiences. I wasn’t just learning theory. I was leveraging everything I learned at the Daniels School in a hands-on way, while pitching in some instances for up to $1 million in startup seed funding.”
After graduation, Beal took a position as an executive track analyst with General Motors in Detroit, joining the Global Strategy & Portfolio Planning Division. During his time there, he worked with product and marketing executives for Buick and GMC, developing analyses and strategies for product development, marketing and global product launches.
Recognized as a long-term thinker and exceptional analyst and strategist, Beal was promoted to Future Product Strategy, developing multi-decade strategies and insights for GM. As a lifelong ‘car guy,’ Beal says having the chance to make contributions to General Motors’ vehicles was a dream come true.
The next big pivot took him to Boston in 2018, where he transitioned from corporate strategy to startups and venture capital, helping to launch the first cohort of the Air Force Accelerator.
He worked with Techstars and AFWERX, a newly formed innovation wing of the U.S. Air Force, to help start-up founders develop business strategies and grow their businesses while solving important national security problems.
“It changed the way the Air Force partnered with private companies and opened the door for small companies to collaborate more successfully with the Department of Defense,” says Beal, who became the Agora Lead for the Boston Chapter of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, a national nonprofit that serves as a hub for the national security community.
“We were ahead of the curve, supporting companies in 2018 with C-UAS technologies (Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems), which have become crucial in places like Ukraine. It has been rewarding to contribute to national security, and supporting the defense community has been an honor and a privilege.”
“Thank you to the incredible Purdue professors and staff for your guidance, instruction and friendship. I am eternally grateful.”
Also in 2018, Beal co-founded Awayr AI with Ben D. Sawyer, a world-renowned human factors engineering and artificial intelligence scientist. Awayr AI developed AI solutions to solve pressing problems in systems design and engineering for automotive and aerospace design. The company was nominated twice for Innovative Company of the Year by the New England Business Association in its business competition, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the country. Awayr AI completed several Air Force contracts and a cybersecurity project for the National Institute of Standards & Technology before Beal made his next move.
He joined the Honda Xcelerator Ventures team in Silicon Valley as principal in Strategic Investments & Venture Partnerships to launch Honda’s first corporate venture capital arm. Managing investments, joint ventures and partnerships for the Western United States and Canada, Beal wore many hats while managing a large territory. He oversaw an investment pipeline of startups across autonomy, robotics, AI, cleantech, energy, space, materials and electric vehicles. His portfolio of strategic partnerships co-developed cutting-edge technologies for EVs, aircraft, connected vehicles and more. Honda Xcelerator Ventures deploys $80 million per year to support the company’s future.
Beal left Honda in 2024 to join R3i Ventures as principal in the Western U.S. In addition to his work in identifying best-in-class early-stage investment opportunities at the firm, he serves as strategic advisor for the Cognitive Security Institute, which focuses on the human element of cybersecurity. He’s a mentor for the National Security Innovation Network and an entrepreneur-in-residence with Planet43, an accelerator program at R3i. He teaches courses at Planet43 on how startups can successfully collaborate with corporate venture capital organizations and how to partner with and sell to Fortune 500 companies.
Beal works fully remotely and splits time between Colorado Springs and Mountain View, California. “I had an epiphany during the pandemic that life is too short,” he says. “I was tired of moving around, and I wanted to reorient my life so I could enjoy more outdoor sports and spend time with family and friends.
“I’m happy to be part of the R3i Ventures team, and I am proud of the work we are doing globally to support top founders in bringing the technologies to market that will change the world. Becoming a Boilermaker and a Daniels School MBA played a crucial role in getting me to where I am today. Thank you to the incredible Purdue professors and staff for your guidance, instruction and friendship. I am eternally grateful.”
