Point72 Ventures

Tara Stokes

Investments

New York

Tara Stokes is a Partner on the Investment Team at Point72 Ventures, leading the firm’s investments in artificial intelligence and machine learning companies.

Prior to joining Point72 Ventures, Tara was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley, where she began her career as an equity trader focused on technology, media, and telecom. Tara earned her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and her BA in Public Policy from Duke University.

I started my career in TMT equity trading.

Covering technology, media, and telecom companies taught me a lot about healthy companies vs. unhealthy ones, what’s signal and what’s noise, and the importance of innovation and new research in the sector.  

The biggest part of my process is understanding founding teams.

I have a big family, and I was on a lot of sports teams growing up. It taught me that the people you surround yourself with will inspire you, challenge you, and support your growth. A good team goes a long way. 

We’re all optimists here.

This job combines creativity and discipline to drive transformative outcomes. You need to be a believer in possibilities, and then do the work to solve it, together. 

Small talk cheat sheet:

East vs. West Coast perspectives, the Grand Slam tennis championships, a great article you’ve read.