From Communist Romania to cutting-edge innovation: Andrei Iancu’s entrepreneurial journey

Andrei Iancu — Founder & CEO of Halo Industries Growing up in Communist Romania and earning a bachelor’s in aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering at Iowa State University, Andrei Iancu had no concept of entrepreneurship. That all changed at Stanford, where he earned a PhD in mechanical engineering and became inspired to start a company and make a meaningful impact on the world. Drawing on his work in a Stanford research lab, he founded Halo Industries, which creates novel laser-based systems for materials fabrication to help manufacturers drastically reduce waste, improve quality, and enable next-generation technologies. And if that’s not enough, his next big thing may be addressing gaps in childcare and early childhood education.