Dr. Vishal Sikka Today Launched Vianai Systems, a Transformative Enterprise AI Platform Company

BMW Supervisory Board Member, Former CEO of Infosys & Former SAP Executive Board Member Begins New Venture with $50M in Funding

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Vianai Systems

Sep 12, 2019, 11:03 ET

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Vianai Systems, an AI Enterprise Platform startup, launched today with a mission to help businesses around the world successfully leverage AI to drive fundamental digital transformations.

"AI has the ability to fundamentally transform every business in every industry," said Dr. Vishal Sikka, Founder and CEO of Vianai. "The shift to AI in the enterprise carries vast potential for improving businesses and amplifying their humanity. Yet only a few technology firms have tapped into AI's potential. Vianai is at the forefront of helping the world's best organizations on their journey."

Vianai Systems brings to enterprises, across all industries, a breakthrough AI platform that blends extreme ease-of-use and performance with the next generation of explorable and explainable AI techniques. Vianai is already helping organizations take the use of AI in their organization beyond experiments and proof of concepts to make AI-based digital services a cornerstone of their enterprise transformation strategy.

Vianai's team comes with deep expertise in enterprise technologies and landscapes, business application development, engineering services, design thinking and cutting-edge AI research. With a PhD in AI from Stanford University, Dr. Sikka has a distinguished background as a visionary AI researcher, teacher and practitioner. Dr. Sikka is the former CEO of Infosys and former executive board member and head of products at SAP. Dr. Sikka currently serves on the Supervisory Board of the BMW Group and on the advisory board of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI).

John Etchemendy, Provost Emeritus of Stanford University, Co-Director of HAI, and Vianai advisor stated, "Today, there is a great potential and opportunity to use AI as a force for good in the world, and it is refreshing to see a company that gets it right at the outset. Vishal's vision for Vianai, the talent that the company has harnessed, and the rapid progress made in a very short time, are all impressive. I am excited about being an advisor, and look forward to our journey together."

Vianai has secured $50M in funding, and has announced a panel of advisors from industry and academia, including: Henning Kagermann (former Chairman and CEO of SAP and Chairman of Acatech), Alan Kay (Turing Award Winner and Computer Science Pioneer), Divesh Makan (Founder of ICONIQ Capital), Indra Nooyi (Member of the Boards at Amazon and Schlumberger and Former CEO of PepsiCo), and Sebastian Thrun (CEO of the Kitty Hawk Corporation, and Co-founder and Chairman of Udacity) and John Etchemendy.

"Every company that hopes to be a leader in their industry needs to understand the transformative potential of AI, and to successfully activate it within their organizations," said Indra Nooyi, Vianai advisor. "The market need is immense, and Vianai, with its capable leadership and differentiated platform, is in a unique position to address it. I look forward to being an advisor to the company in the exciting times ahead."

Dr. Sikka will deliver a keynote address at 3:15 p.m. PST on Tuesday Sept. 17 at Oracle Open World's YBCA stage.

For more information, contact Dr. Carly Cooper at 1-650-847-1947 / [email protected]

SOURCE Vianai Systems