Alva Energy announced today that Pat Gelsinger has joined its Board of Directors. One of America’s most respected technologists, Pat brings decades of leadership at the forefront of the semiconductor industry, most recently as CEO of Intel and previously as CEO of VMware.

An electrical engineer by training, Gelsinger has played a defining role in advancing foundational technologies spanning microprocessors, enterprise computing, and semiconductor fabrication. At Intel—as both CTO and later CEO—he helped drive platform-defining innovation, including serving as the lead architect of the Intel 486 chip and developing technologies which became universal, from USB to Wi-Fi. Most recently, he helped lead Intel’s push back to process-node leadership—anchored by the “five nodes in four years” execution plan and an aggressive roadmap through next-generation nodes including the Intel 18A and 14A—aimed squarely at restoring American dominance in advanced semiconductor fabrication.

“Playground invested in Alva because they’re the only nuclear company designed to deliver at the speed, scale, and certainty this moment demands,” Pat explained to reporters. “Their approach doesn’t rely on theoretical technologies or distant timelines, it unlocks gigawatts of clean power from existing infrastructure. It’s real, it’s financeable, and it’s deployable this decade.”

“Pat is a legend in the global engineering community,” said James Krellenstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Alva. “Few private-sector leaders have deployed tens of billions of dollars of capital while executing some of the world’s most complex EPC projects—under the highest QA/QC standards—and still pushed the leading edge of technology forward. That combination of capital discipline, manufacturing execution, and deep technical leadership aligns directly with Alva’s mission to deliver gigawatts of new American nuclear capacity at a pace not seen in generations.”

Today, Pat is a General Partner at Playground Global, a deep tech venture firm with $1.2 billion under management. He invests in foundational technologies that drive long-term economic strength and national resilience. Pat serves on the boards of several Playground portfolio companies, with a focus on next-generation computing, energy, and infrastructure. Beyond his work as an investor at Playground, Pat is a speaker, board member, author, inventor, philanthropist, investor, husband, father of four, and grandfather of eight.