From Tech to Traction: How AI Builders Turned Innovation into Millions

​In the fast-moving world of AI, turning breakthrough technology into real business traction takes more than brilliant code — it takes strategy, timing, and vision. Join us for a conversation with three founders who have done just that, each recently raising multi-million-dollar rounds to scale their AI ventures. From building core infrastructure and developer tools to reimagining business immigration through automation, these leaders will share how they transformed technical insight into sustainable growth, funding success, and market impact.

Speaker:
Priyanka Kulkarni is the Founder and CEO of Casium, the fastest-growing AI-powered business immigration platform helping companies hire and retain global talent with speed and compliance. Backed by the Allen Institute for AI and having recently raised $5M led by Maverick Ventures, Casium streamlines visa filings from months to days, already serving employers from startups to Series F.

​Previously, Priyanka spent over a decade at Microsoft, most recently as a Principal Science Manager in Azure AI for Language, where she built large-scale NLP systems embedded across ChatGPT, Office, and Search. She holds dual Master’s degrees in Computer Science and Applied Computational Mathematics from the University of Washington and Johns Hopkins University.

Da Li is the founder of Yotta Labs, which raised $3.8M to build an AI-native operating system and AI platform for efficient machine learning across GPU clouds. In less than a year, the company reached $7.5M in annual recurring revenue.

Previously, Daniel was Senior Engineering Manager at Chainlink Labs, where he led the launch of the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) and prior that, he was Director of Engineering at Genies leading the Avatar and NFT products. At Facebook, he spent six years leading engineering teams across ads, privacy-preserving analytics, election integrity infrastructure, and transparency systems. He holds degrees from Stanford University and the University of Missouri-Columbia, and served on the Industry Advisory Council at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing.

Yunhao Jiao, is the Co-founder and CEO of TestSprite, an AI-powered platform delivering fully automated end-to-end software testing. Backed by Techstars 2024, TestSprite recently raised $7 million to redefine quality assurance for modern development teams.

Yunhao previously spent five years as a Senior Software Engineer at Amazon, with deep expertise in NLP and AI dating back to his research days at Zhejiang University and Yale, where he earned his Master’s in Computer Science. A published researcher and experienced builder, Yunhao blends technical depth with entrepreneurial drive to accelerate innovation in developer tooling.

Moderator:
Melissa Hutchins is the Founder & CEO of Certifi AI, a mission-driven company developing AI tools to protect individuals and agencies from digital threats like deepfakes and impersonation. With a strong background in product management at Disney and Expedia, and experience in machine learning and scalable tech solutions, Melissa brings a unique blend of technical expertise and social impact leadership to the stage. A recognized voice in women’s leadership and AI ethics, she is an engaging moderator known for fostering inclusive, insight-driven conversations in the tech community.

Sponsors:
Deloitte
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