Paolo Faraboschi

Paolo Faraboschi is a Vice President and HPE Fellow and directs the Artificial Intelligence Research Lab at Hewlett Packard Labs. Paolo has been at HP/HPE for three decades, and worked on a broad range of technologies, from embedded printer processors to exascale supercomputers. He previously led exascale computing research (2017-2020), and the hardware architecture of “The Machine” project (2014-2016), pioneered low-energy servers with HP’s project Moonshot (2010-2014), drove scalable system-level simulation research (2004-2009), and was the principal architect of a family of embedded VLIW cores (1994-2003), widely used in video SoCs and HP’s printers. Paolo is an IEEE Fellow (2014) for “contributions to embedded processor architecture and system-on-chip technology”, author of over 100 publications, 70 granted patents, and the book “Embedded Computing: a VLIW approach”. He received a Ph.D. in EECS from the University of Genoa, Italy.

Syona Sarma

Syona Sarma is the Senior Director, Head of Hardware Systems at Cloudflare, where she runs the engineering team that builds Cloudflare's infrastructure. Since joining Cloudflare in 2022, she leads the design of the next generation servers that is foundational to all of Cloudflare's services, including compute and storage. More recently, she spearheaded the introduction of specialized accelerators designs on the edge, which enabled launch of Cloudflare's inference-as-a-service product, and is integral to the rapidly expanding suite of AI product offerings. Before coming to Cloudflare, Syona was at Intel, where she started her career in CPU design, and held several different roles in hardware, product and business development in Cloud Computing. 

She holds a Masters in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Texas at Austin, and a business degree from University of Washington.

Manish Patel

Manish Patel is the visionary founder of Nava Ventures, a pioneering venture capital firm headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley. With a career spanning dozens of years at the forefront of technological innovation, Manish is renowned as a Silicon Valley Veteran with a knack for solving complex problems at the intersection of business, technology, and human experience.

Throughout his career, Manish has worn many hats – from operational maven and inventive trailblazer to astute venture capitalist. His deep-seated expertise in global business and product development, coupled with an unwavering passion for transformative technologies, positions him as a driving force behind Nava Ventures' success.

Prior to founding Nava Ventures, Manish held pivotal roles at Google and Highland Capital. At Google, he served as an early product leader, spearheading teams responsible for the design, development, and scalability of groundbreaking products such as Google Ads, GoogleTV, and Google Maps. Later, at Highland Capital, Manish played a key role in expanding the firm's footprint in California, further cementing his reputation as a strategic visionary in the venture capital landscape.  In 2021, Manish embarked on his entrepreneurial journey by establishing Nava Ventures. With a persistent focus on unique technology and experienced management teams, Nava focuses on early-stage investments across a diverse portfolio spanning AI technologies, data analytics, healthcare innovations, and financial services.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Manish's passion for knowledge sharing and mentorship is evident in his roles as an esteemed educator. For years, he has served as a dedicated instructor at the Stanford School of Engineering, nurturing the next generation of tech engineers and innovators. Additionally, his commitment to fostering entrepreneurship extends globally, as he proudly serves as a Fellow at the University of Toronto's Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) and is a Distinguished Fellow at IDEO and has more than a dozen patents.