Michael Polansky (born September 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, music producer and songwriter. He is engaged to Lady Gaga and has co-written various songs with her.
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Early life and education
Polansky was born in the U.S. state of Minnesota. His father, Steven Polansky, is a writer of Jewish heritage.
He studied applied mathematics and computer science at Harvard University and graduated in 2006.
Career
Polansky is founder or co-founder of the companies Avos Capital Management, Hawktail, and Outer Biosciences. He is a board member of Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and Lady Gaga's cosmetics brand Haus Labs. Polansky is the executive director of the Parker Foundation, which he co-founded with Sean Parker in 2015. He has also been the chief operating officer of Airtime, which was founded by Parker and Shawn Fanning in 2011. Polansky has been involved in other projects by Parker.
Polansky was a co-executive producer of Lady Gaga's 2024 soundtrack album Harlequin and co-wrote and reworked the traditional songs "Get Happy", "Good Morning", "If My Friends Could See Me Now", and "Oh, When the Saints". He also has writing and production credits on Lady Gaga's 2025 studio album Mayhem, including "The Beast", "Blade of Grass", "Disease", "Don't Call Tonight", "How Bad Do U Want Me", "LoveDrug", and "Vanish into You". He and Lady Gaga also co-wrote the original song "All I Need Is Time". In addition, he co-produced the Mayhem Ball, Gaga's 2025–2026 world tour, which was designed as a theatrical production divided into acts, and the music video for her 2026 single "Runway".
Personal life
Polansky is based in San Francisco, as of 2024. As of 2025, he is engaged to Lady Gaga. The couple started dating in 2020. When he asked how he should propose to her, she suggested using a blade of grass, which inspired her song of the same name on Mayhem.
Songs written
All songs written by Polansky and Gaga, with the other writers listed below.