C10 Labs, a new Cambridge-based AI venture studio, is building a community for AI entrepreneurs. Its mission is to empower visionary founders and cultivate impactful, AI-first startups. They just wrapped up their inaugural winter cohort of 10 teams at Demo Day. But who are the minds behind this ambitious endeavor? Get to know the C10 Labs leadership team.
The Co-Founders: A Fusion of Expertise
C10 Labs is led by a powerful trio: Shahid Azim, Patricia Geli, and Ramesh Raskar. They worked together at MIT teaching the “AI for Impact” class and brought their learnings and momentum to C10 Labs. Shahid has started four venture-backed technology and healthcare companies as CEO and discovered that AI-first company CEOs cannot be just tech leaders or business leaders but must become multifaceted leaders to fully tap the potential. Patricia’s PhD is in Math/neural networks and she is an expert in public-private partnerships in emerging technology areas. She has managed large and complex investments and public-private partnerships, involving 55 countries and multiple stakeholders such as the African Union, the European Commission and the US Government to stimulate innovation and economic growth. Of note, Patricia was just asked to join the State’s Strategic AI Task Force. Ramesh, an MIT Media Lab Professor, has co-founded multiple companies and led venture studios and AI teams at Apple, Facebook and Google X. He believes creating strong moat AI-first startups will require a new approach. Together, they create a leadership powerhouse that drives C10 Labs’ unique approach.
Building a More Equitable Future
C10 Labs is committed to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion within the AI space. Their recent event “AI in the Built World and Sustainability” featured speakers from across the architecture, engineering, construction, and operations industry, focusing on “creating a safe environment for AI technology adoption through education and ethical transparency.” You can watch the highlights from their event here.
Why build in Kendall Square?
The C10 Labs team has a deep history with Kendall Square, MIT, CIC, and the wider community. Multiple previous ventures from the core team were built in CIC. The “activated ecosystem,” the interconnected elements that accelerate AI development, deployment, and adoption, is a community effort, and CIC is an expert at building community. They plan to expand beyond Massachusetts, though they knew it was essential for the inaugural hub and ventures to be built here.
In case you missed it, here’s a video from their launch event with CIC in November.
Their inaugural cohort are building AI-first companies
C10 Labs just celebrated the “graduation” of their winter cohort. Their demo day brought community partners, mentors, VCs, and founders together to share their accomplishments following their cohort programming. The companies span across industries, at the intersection of AI and worker safety, revenue cycle management, legal research, biomarker discovery, chronic diseases, fertility, and more. You can learn more about the cohort experience here and see the cohort companies on their website.
Stay tuned for more information about their second cohort!
How to engage with C10 Labs?C10 Labs needs help and support to build new ventures to create the “activated ecosystem” for AI. They’re looking for early-stage founders to join their next cohort (apply directly here). Corporate partners can pilot innovative AI solutions specifically designed for industry challenges, collaborate with top AI/ML talent and seasoned industry experts, and serve as thought leaders. C10 Labs invites forward-thinking organizations to collaborate on industry-specific AI solutions. Reach out to get involved.
