Chris Volzer is the Founder and CTO
of Astronaut.
Personal Businesses
Astronaut is an AI platform that enables brands to foster deep relationships within their communities.
Dive Zoo is an online community for scuba divers.
It was created to provide a place for scuba divers to share their experiences, give & receive help and advice, and meet other divers.
Scuba divers often plan entire vacations around when and where they want to dive. It's a big logistical effort to book flights, find accommodations, find a reputable dive shop, pack your gear for air travel, and finally... go diving. I wanted to create a place where divers can share their experiences with each other to make all of that a little easier.
Fight Picks is a fantasy sports app for mixed martial arts.
Thousands of fans submit their predictions, track their picks, and discuss recent MMA news. Fight Picks has logged more than 500,000 fight predictions and hosted more than 200 events.
I sold Fight Picks in 2021 and no longer manage it.
Deactivated; Active 2017 to 2019
Featureform
Pre-seed
Featureform built machine learning software for the early identification of cancer patients.
Our product analyzed large-scale longitudinal patient medical data to detect those most at-risk based on the patterns observed in their medical workups and outcomes.
Professional Highlights
IBM Watson - Wall of Fame
I was a lead data scientist on a consulting engagement that grew the client's sales by more than $100M in aggregate. My team was responsible for pharmaceutical products that treated melanoma and leukemia.
Admitted to the Chicago Booth MBA Program
I was admitted to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business as a Chicago Business Fellow, but withdrew to found Featureform. I chose not to return so that I could continue down a technical industry path.
Technical Lead on a Cancer Research Study
I led a prostate cancer study in collaboration with two major research institutions. I wrote the research protocol, executed the analysis, and presented findings to stakeholders.
Fight Picks Acquired
A small but interesting career milestone.
Angel Investment for Featureform
My cofounder and I raised an angel investment for Featureform from an accomplished industry executive.
Roles
Founder & CTO, Astronaut
2023 to active
Lead Software Engineer, Spark Labs
2022 to 2023
Engineering Manager, Faves
2020 to 2021
Data Science Manager, Project Ronin
2018 to 2019
Senior Data Scientist, IBM Watson Health
2014 to 2017
CV