Hi. I'm Francesco Ranaudo.
From first principlesto first products.
I thrive at the intersection of research, design and commercialisation — turning ideas that matter into products that scale.
Now looking for the next hard problem worth solving.
A quick snapshot
I love building things — from skyscrapers around the world to a deeptech startup revolutionising the construction industry. Over 10 years of experience across engineering, research and entrepreneurship.
2015 – 2019
Structural Design Engineer
Designed high-rise and complex structures from concept to construction across three continents. Key projects: 500 Folsom (San Francisco), Karlatornet (Gothenburg), MoMA (Warsaw).
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2019 – 2023
Doctor of Sciences
Developed a low-carbon, circular structural floor system at the intersection of computational design and digital fabrication. The research that became VAULTED.
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2023 – Present
Co-founder · CEO · Board Member
Founded and led the company commercializing my research at ETH Zurich. Lab to product in under a year. Sales in 3 countries in 3 years.
Explore →I'm driven by a specific kind of problem: one that lives at the boundary of what's technically possible and what the world actually needs.
From first principles to first products
The gap between a good idea and a real product is where most things die. That's the part I find most interesting.
Sustainable progress
We have a responsibility to grow in a way that doesn't compromise what comes after us. That's the kind of progress worth working on.
Ready for the next leap
I've spent ten years building things I'm proud of.
Now I want to bring that to a new context at the frontier of technology — where progress means creating value today without taking it from tomorrow.
Ambition needs a foundation.Here is mine.
Engineer
Designing landmark projects at Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) — operating inside complex, high-stakes systems from concept to construction across three continents.
Complex systems at scale
Explorer
I have earned my PhD at ETH Zurich's Block Research Group, leading reasearch group in computational design and digital fabrication.
Digital fabrication · Computational Design
Founder
Co-founded VAULTED AG for impact at scale. Lab to market in under one year. Scaled in three countries in three years.
Lab to market · impact at scaleTranslating ideas across boundaries
Getting a deep-tech idea to market requires telling the same story in completely different languages — to stakeholders, clients, investors, and the public.
Watch my TEDx talk
Awards
- MITDesignX — Winner
- IMD Startup Competition — Winner
- Venture Leaders Cleantech — Winner
- CTBUH Award of Excellence
- Norman Blank Prize for Digital Fabrication
- Swiss Arc Award
- Swiss Innovation Challenge — Special Prize
- Swiss Prime Site Accelerator — Winner
Stage
TEDx Stuttgart
We must change how we design and build — and we must act now
2024
Venice Biennale of Architecture
ReMarbl3D · International Architecture Exhibition
2023
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Gothic by Design · New York
2026
Publications
Rethinking concrete construction
domus, 1099, 2025
Funicular Floor Design
PhD dissertation, ETH Zurich, 2023
On the thrust line of piecewise-linear-elastic continuous funicular structures
IASS/APCS Symposium, Beijing, 2022
Unreinforced concrete masonry for circular construction
Architectural Intelligence, 2024
I'm looking for the next hard problem. If that sounds like yours — let's talk.
franaudo.com