Rich Padula
General Partner @ R7 Partners
Chicago, United States
Rich Padula is a Series A investor at R7 Partners in Chicago focused on Software and Aerospace. Rich Padula is the General Partner at R7.Rich brings deep technical and entrepreneurial experience to the team, most notably as the founder of Syclo, a leading provider of enterprise mobile solutions, which he grew to over 200 employees before being acquired by SAP in 2012. After two years as Chief Strategy Officer of SAP’s Mobile Division, heleft to start a private development lab in Chicago where he and his team explore new technologies and take them to market.Rich serves on the faculty at Northwestern University's Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and mentors students at The Garage, NU’s innovation hub. He also serves on the boards of Havensight Consulting Group, Intelligent Flying Machines, Vodori and Xtracomm. He received a BS in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University.
- Total investments:
- 2
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 50%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Rich Padula invests in
Stages Rich Padula invests in
Countries Rich Padula invests in
Contacts
| Type | Contact | Validation |
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| Work email | ||
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Investment Focus
Industry
- Software 1 (50%)
- Aerospace 1 (50%)
- Autonomous Vehicles 1 (50%)
- Industrial Engineering 1 (50%)
Stage
- Series A 1 (50%)
- Series B 1 (50%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xwing was founded in 2016 to make air transportation smarter, safer, cleaner, and more accessible for everyone. Our work begins with converting today’s cargo aircraft into fully autonomous airplanes so every person in the world can have greater access to reliable and affordable delivery services no matter where they live. Beyond air cargo, we lookforward to expanding our technology safely, scalably, and sustainably to other areas of commercial aviation. Fast Company recently named us one of the Most Innovative Transportation Companies of 2021 and a 'World Changing Idea' in 2022. We were also featured on TIME Magazine’s 2021 Best Inventions List after completing the world’s first fully autonomous cargo flight and making aviation history. | $40M / Series B / Apr 15, 2021 | ||
| Xwing was founded in 2016 to make air transportation smarter, safer, cleaner, and more accessible for everyone. Our work begins with converting today’s cargo aircraft into fully autonomous airplanes so every person in the world can have greater access to reliable and affordable delivery services no matter where they live. Beyond air cargo, we lookforward to expanding our technology safely, scalably, and sustainably to other areas of commercial aviation. Fast Company recently named us one of the Most Innovative Transportation Companies of 2021 and a 'World Changing Idea' in 2022. We were also featured on TIME Magazine’s 2021 Best Inventions List after completing the world’s first fully autonomous cargo flight and making aviation history. | $10M / Series A / May 20, 2020 |
Co-Investors
About R7 Partners
R7 Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies building transformational technologies.
R7 Partners Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Ali Javidan
Venture Partner
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Rich Padula
General Partner
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Trey Ward
General Partner
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Tyler Engh
Founder and General Partner
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FAQ
What does Rich Padula invest in?
Rich Padula invests primarily in Software, Aerospace and Autonomous Vehicles startups, most often at Series A and Series B stage. Most of the 2 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
How do I contact Rich Padula?
Public channels for Rich Padula include LinkedIn. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
When did Rich Padula last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Rich Padula closed in Apr 2021. Shizune tracks 2 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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