EPISODE 30: BRIAN ADAMS

Brian Adams — Investing in New Mexico’s Future Through Energy, Mobility & Innovation

Brian Adams is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of UP.Abundance, a New Mexico–focused venture fund and an investment strategy of the global firm UP.Partners. A “boomerang” New Mexican, Brian returned to the state in 2022 after 13 years in Seattle, bringing with him deep experience in startups, venture capital, and corporate innovation.

Brian began his career in Albuquerque in 2004 at Eclipse Aviation, where he worked alongside Ben Marcus and Cyrus Sigari—future founders of UP.Partners. His path took him to Amazon, where over five years he helped scale the Alexa Corporate Venture Capital Fund and led the Portfolio Development team. Later at Amazon Web Services (AWS), he created and led strategies to partner with hundreds of accelerators and incubators, helping AWS acquire early-stage startups.

Throughout his career, Brian has been an early employee at five startups—two of which were acquired by GE and Liberty Media. In 2022, he and his wife, an Albuquerque native, moved back to New Mexico, where he co-founded UP.Abundance with David Ellmann. The fund, backed by New Mexico’s state sovereign wealth fund, is focused on attracting and investing in energy and mobility startups that are building or committing to build a presence in the state.

Brian holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Washington. His work is helping position New Mexico as a national leader in climate technology and innovation.