Rhae Adams is Managing Partner of Sol Zero Group, the Seattle-based venture studio he co-founded in 2024 to turn frontier engineering into durable, cash-flow-positive businesses. Sol Zero’s first year produced two subsidiaries—Special Teams (engineering & prototyping) and Civic Forge (government-affairs advisory)—and the studio is actively incubating additional climate-tech and heavy-industry plays that leverage the founders’ systems-engineering roots.

Previously, Rhae co-founded and scaled First Mode from a garage-sized engineering shop into a 300-person, global clean-energy powerhouse. Over six years as the company’s COO & CRO, he owned strategy, operations, and go-to-market execution that generated $150 million+ in contracted revenue and produced landmark technologies—including the world’s first 2-MW hydrogen-powered mine haul truck. This growth story culminated in 2024 with a $1.5 billion cash-and-stock merger with Anglo American.

Earlier in his career Rhae was Director of Mining & Energy at Planetary Resources, where he helped outline commercial uses for asteroid-derived materials, and he spent four years with Accenture Strategy advising energy and aerospace clients on operations and M&A. His work on space-resource markets earned him a place on the Forbes 30 Under 30 – Manufacturing & Industry list in 2017.

Rhae is active in the community. He sits on the Contemporary Council of Seattle’s Frye Art Museum, previously served on the board of First Mode & Washington’s Technology Alliance, advises Rice University’s Eclipse Rocket Team, and mentors startups in the Techstars × Starburst Space Accelerator. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Rice University.

Outside of Sol Zero, Rhae is an avid outdoorsman, spending as much time as possible hiking, camping, sailing, snowshoeing, and snowboarding in the Pacific Northwest. He is also a contemporary art collector, amateur paleontologist, concert enthusiast, and a regular Seattle Kraken fan.