Philippe van Nedervelde is a futurist and transhumanist writer, activist, and speaker who advocates space settlements to avert human extinction. An early virtual reality developer, he founded the VR and 3D graphics studio E-spaces, invented the patented C-Thru system applying VR to security, and served as co-CEO of X3D Technologies, Inc., a virtual worlds company co-founded with director Michael Bay.

Through E-spaces he directed twelve online 3D training simulators for British Petroleum and the oil-and-gas industry to certify Well Lease Operators in surface-equipment maintenance and troubleshooting. He also created VR projects for the Munich Airport Center, Simsala Grimm, virtual Europe, and the transhumanist sculpture on Martine Rothblatt’s Teresem Island.

From 1997 to 2014 he was Executive Director for Europe at the Foresight Institute, interfacing with media and representing the organization at EU events and parliamentary hearings; he is also a Global Task Force member of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology. He has spoken at conferences including a CIA Strategic Assessments Group working group on unconventional security threats in Washington, D.C. He co-authored the Foresight Guidelines on Molecular Nanotechnology and was cited in Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Near.

Van Nedervelde sits on the board of the Lifeboat Foundation, dedicated to reducing existential risks, and serves as its International Spokesperson, handling fundraising, multimedia presentations, and media outreach.