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João Montenegro

AI and hardware entrepreneur

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Book 20 min

Work

All work

Writing

All writing
A fusion starship with red radiators and a blue-white exhaust plume, alone against a dark backgroundArticle seriesHow to go interstellar?A series on choosing a destination, crossing the distance, and building a life beyond the Solar System.1 essay published · 7 plannedExplore the series
João Montenegro, head and shoulders, in a light blue shirt against a black background

About

I am João Montenegro, an AI and hardware entrepreneur based in Lisbon. I am the founder and CEO of Darkmatter AI Labs, where we build AI systems for large clients in aerospace, retail and insurance.

1 of 5
winners of ESA’s 2023 spacesuit competition
6
awards for BEETHEFIRST
2016–22
co-founder of ubbu
More about meDarkmatter AI Labs ↗

Clients and partners

Backyard science.

I photograph the sky from my backyard with a small telescope and publish what the measurements support.

Five photographs of the partially eclipsed Sun in a row: the first bite on the right, a thin white crescent near maximum, and the Moon leaving on the left

The partial solar eclipse. 12 Aug 2026

The Triangulum Galaxy, M33, in the selected rendition of the 22 August 2026 stack

M33. 22 Aug 2026

The Andromeda Galaxy with M32 and M110, the edited photograph the audit examined

Andromeda. 25 Jul 2026

The Pleiades, the edited photograph that gives the Ulula measurements their context

(714) Ulula. 25 Jul 2026

Saturn close up

Saturn. 2023

All of the sky
A render of the Sun rising over the Earth's limb, seen from orbit, with city lights on the night side

Let’s talk

I take 20-minute calls on weekdays, 09:30 to 18:00 in Lisbon. Pick a day and an hour.

Book 20 min