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Sakyasingha Dasgupta, PhD.
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Sakyasingha Dasgupta is the founder and CEO of EdgeCortix group companies. He is an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologist, entrepreneur, and engineer with over a decade of experience in taking cutting edge AI research from ideation stage to scalable products, across different industry verticals. Having lead teams at global companies like Microsoft and IBM Research / IBM Japan, along with national research labs like RIKEN Japan and Max Planck Institute Germany; in his more recent roles prior to founding EdgeCortix, he helped establish and lead the technology division at lean startups in Japan and Singapore, in semiconductor technology, robotics & autonomous vehicles and Fintech sectors.
After spending more than a decade in research and development in diverse areas like, brain inspired computing, robotics, computer vision, AI acceleration on semiconductors, wearable devices, internet of things, machine learning in finance and healthcare, Sakya founded EdgeCortix in 2019, as a fabless semiconductor design company focused on enabling energy-efficient edge intelligence. EdgeCortix has its R&D headquarters and semiconductor design team based in Tokyo, Japan, working on the radical idea of taking a software first approach, while designing an AI specific reconfigurable processor from the ground up using a patented technique called "hardware & software co-exploration". Targeting advanced computer vision applications first, using software IP on existing processors like FPGAs and custom ASIC design, EdgeCortix is positively disrupting the rapidly growing AI semiconductor space across defense, security, aerospace, smart cities, industry 4.0, autonomous vehicles and robotics.
Sakya holds a PhD. in Physics of Complex Systems from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, along with Masters in Artificial Intelligence from The University of Edinburgh, U.K. Prior to founding EdgeCortix he also completed his entrepreneurship studies from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He holds over 20 patents worldwide and his research has garnered over 1000 citations.
After spending more than a decade in research and development in diverse areas like, brain inspired computing, robotics, computer vision, AI acceleration on semiconductors, wearable devices, internet of things, machine learning in finance and healthcare, Sakya founded EdgeCortix in 2019, as a fabless semiconductor design company focused on enabling energy-efficient edge intelligence. EdgeCortix has its R&D headquarters and semiconductor design team based in Tokyo, Japan, working on the radical idea of taking a software first approach, while designing an AI specific reconfigurable processor from the ground up using a patented technique called "hardware & software co-exploration". Targeting advanced computer vision applications first, using software IP on existing processors like FPGAs and custom ASIC design, EdgeCortix is positively disrupting the rapidly growing AI semiconductor space across defense, security, aerospace, smart cities, industry 4.0, autonomous vehicles and robotics.
Sakya holds a PhD. in Physics of Complex Systems from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, along with Masters in Artificial Intelligence from The University of Edinburgh, U.K. Prior to founding EdgeCortix he also completed his entrepreneurship studies from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He holds over 20 patents worldwide and his research has garnered over 1000 citations.
Jeffrey H. Grosman
Executive VP of Marketing
& US Operations
Jeffrey H. Grosman
Executive VP of Marketing
& US Operations
Jeffrey is EdgeCortix’s Executive VP of Marketing & US Operations. Prior to joining EdgeCortix, he brings over three decades of experience in marketing, branding, management, and operations leadership roles with world-class companies while leading them through rapid growth and large-scale transformation.
Previously, Jeffrey led as COO of Determine Inc. (NASDAQ: DTRM) through the eventual acquisition by Corcentric. While serving as COO for Determine, Inc. he was responsible for driving the operational cadence, business planning, and analytics for the global company. Prior to Determine, Inc., Jeffrey was the CMRO at Youbet.com (NASDAQ: UBET) through the eventual acquisition by Churchill Downs Incorp. (NASDAQ: CHDN).
Jeffrey holds an MBA from Emory University and an undergraduate degree with dual major in Computer Science and Sociology from Rutgers University.
Previously, Jeffrey led as COO of Determine Inc. (NASDAQ: DTRM) through the eventual acquisition by Corcentric. While serving as COO for Determine, Inc. he was responsible for driving the operational cadence, business planning, and analytics for the global company. Prior to Determine, Inc., Jeffrey was the CMRO at Youbet.com (NASDAQ: UBET) through the eventual acquisition by Churchill Downs Incorp. (NASDAQ: CHDN).
Jeffrey holds an MBA from Emory University and an undergraduate degree with dual major in Computer Science and Sociology from Rutgers University.
Tim Vehling
Executive VP of Global Sales
Tim Vehling
Executive VP of Global Sales
Tim Vehling is EdgeCortix’s Executive VP of Global Sales. He brings over thirty years of experience leading both publicly traded semiconductor companies and start-ups.
Prior to joining EdgeCortix, Tim was SVP of Product and Business Development at AI semiconductor start-up, Mythic, where he led the company’s go-to-market efforts. In addition to Mythic, Tim has held executive positions at industry-leading companies including Synaptics, Silicon Image, Micronas, LSI and start-ups HYPHY and Redpine Signals, where he drove Tier-1 revenue growth, executed successful product go-to-market strategies, attained market-share and industry thought leadership and scaled global cross-functional teams. Based in Silicon Valley, Tim has extensive international experience, having also worked in Germany and Japan.
Tim holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Valparaiso University.
Prior to joining EdgeCortix, Tim was SVP of Product and Business Development at AI semiconductor start-up, Mythic, where he led the company’s go-to-market efforts. In addition to Mythic, Tim has held executive positions at industry-leading companies including Synaptics, Silicon Image, Micronas, LSI and start-ups HYPHY and Redpine Signals, where he drove Tier-1 revenue growth, executed successful product go-to-market strategies, attained market-share and industry thought leadership and scaled global cross-functional teams. Based in Silicon Valley, Tim has extensive international experience, having also worked in Germany and Japan.
Tim holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Valparaiso University.
Sudhakar Kale
Vice President of Silicon Engineering & Head of the India Design Center
Sudhakar Kale
Vice President of Silicon Engineering & Head of the India Design Center
Sudhakar Kale assumes the role of Vice President of Silicon Engineering and Head of the India Design Center at EdgeCortix. In this capacity, he spearheads worldwide Hardware Engineering teams, driving advanced Silicon solutions. Sudhakar brings in more than three decades of expertise garnered from eminent global semiconductor entities such as Samsung, AMD, Intel, Texas Instruments, Synopsys, Blaize, and Chelsio Communications. He held senior leadership positions in these organizations, delivering state-of-the-art products by collaborating with international teams. Sudhakar has a track record of successfully delivering complex System-on-Chip (SOC) solutions for mobile, data center, and client markets, as well as advanced Deep Learning accelerators optimized for Edge computing. His technical proficiency spans a wide spectrum of SOC domains, covering SOC Integration, Design Verification, Physical Design, and Methodology. Sudhakar is the co-author of two patents and multiple publications.
Sudhakar holds a degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering from JNTU, Kakinada, a Masters in Computer Science from Hyderabad Central University, and an MBA from Colorado State University.
Sudhakar holds a degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering from JNTU, Kakinada, a Masters in Computer Science from Hyderabad Central University, and an MBA from Colorado State University.
Stanley Crow
Vice President of Defense
& Space Technology
Stanley Crow
Vice President of Defense
& Space Technology
Stanley Crow recently retired from Northrop Grumman as CTO and VP Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing for the company’s Defense Systems sector. Previously he was the Chief Executive for Northrop Grumman Japan where he was responsible for leading Northrop Grumman's overall development in Japan. During his tenure, he served in various roles at Northrop Grumman including President, Northrop Grumman International, Inc, as a Director of International Customer Engagement & Strategy and Director of Business Development for Directed Energy.
Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Mr. Crow served as an Associate Principal at McKinsey and Company, where he helped technology, aerospace and defense clients in the U.S. and U.K. Additionally, he served almost three decades in the United States Air Force, including both active duty and reserve assignments focused on space, intelligence, and advanced capability needs in the IndoPacific. Mr. Crow received a Department of Defense award for anti-terrorism and several awards for leadership and significant contributions to national defense. He will serve as EdgeCortix Defense and Security Sector Advisor.
Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Mr. Crow served as an Associate Principal at McKinsey and Company, where he helped technology, aerospace and defense clients in the U.S. and U.K. Additionally, he served almost three decades in the United States Air Force, including both active duty and reserve assignments focused on space, intelligence, and advanced capability needs in the IndoPacific. Mr. Crow received a Department of Defense award for anti-terrorism and several awards for leadership and significant contributions to national defense. He will serve as EdgeCortix Defense and Security Sector Advisor.
Jeff Milrod
Vice President of Hardware
Product Engineering
Jeff Milrod
Vice President of Hardware
Product Engineering
Jeff is responsible for driving the global EdgeCortix hardware product engineering team, with specific focus on product and test engineering, quality assurance and the execution of hardware products from concept through successful production ramp. Previously, Jeff has held numerous senior roles in recent decades at leading hardware acceleration companies, with a focused drive on both growth and profitability. He joined EdgeCortix after 24 years with BittWare, where he was formerly CEO, President, and Chief Technology Officer. In addition to his operational responsibilities, he also managed the transition of BittWare and the previously acquired Nallatech into a unified 'BittWare, a Molex company’. Prior to Bittware, Jeff was the Founder and CEO of Ixthos, a company which became a leading supplier of advanced DSP hardware, which was subsequently acquired by Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW). Prior to Ixthos, Jeff held positions at Avtec Systems, Booz Allen, and NASA. Jeff holds a Bachelor's in Physics from the University of Maryland and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University.
Atsushi Matsumoto
Vice President of Finance
Atsushi Matsumoto
Vice President of Finance
Atsushi comes to EdgeCortix with deep experience in the areas of Finance, HR, IT, and Supply Chain across a variety of business sectors. He has spent the majority of his career working in multinational companies including Cable & Wireless (telecom), Philip Morris and NBCUniversal. Most recently he held the position of Chief Financial Officer of Warner Music Japan.
Matsumoto holds a BA in Economics from Keio University.
Matsumoto holds a BA in Economics from Keio University.
Nikolay Nez
Senior Director of
Software Engineering
Nikolay Nez
Senior Director of
Software Engineering
Nikolay Nez is EdgeCortix’s Senior Director of Software Engineering. After joining EdgeCortix, he played a key role in defining the overall direction to be taken on hardware architecture and software stack, while also working together with the engineers through finer details of it, from numeric algorithms at a high level, down to microarchitecture and compiler optimizations, mentoring team members, along with hands-on design of the low-level components of the microarchitecture himself. Under his leadership at EdgeCortix, he and his team have been named as co-inventors on 10 key patents (5 granted & others patent pending), taped out the first company's SoC at TSMC 12nm process, and developed robust Neural Network Compiler stackable to support a wide range of CNN models implemented in major Machine Learning frameworks.
Nikolay started his career working in the System Software branch of the CPU startup Soft Machines (acquired by Intel in 2016). He has more than 10 years of hands-on industry experience spanning areas of compiler backends, binary translation, fault-tolerant distributed systems, hardware architecture, and technical leadership.
Nikolay received his Bachelor's and Master's education from Computing Systems Design department of Russian State University of Aviation Technology (MATI).
Nikolay started his career working in the System Software branch of the CPU startup Soft Machines (acquired by Intel in 2016). He has more than 10 years of hands-on industry experience spanning areas of compiler backends, binary translation, fault-tolerant distributed systems, hardware architecture, and technical leadership.
Nikolay received his Bachelor's and Master's education from Computing Systems Design department of Russian State University of Aviation Technology (MATI).
Tada Wakabayashi
Sr. Director of Finance
& Government Relations
Tada Wakabayashi
Sr. Director of Finance
& Government Relations
Tada has over 25 years of senior corporate financial management experience with well-respected global entertainment companies such as Universal Pictures, Viacom, Sony Pictures, and most recently as CFO for Warner Bros. Japan. Tada has a BA and an MA from Waseda University in Tokyo. He also holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Manish Sinha
Sr. Director of Product
Manish Sinha
Sr. Director of Product
Manish Sinha is EdgeCortix’s Sr. Director of Product with a tactical focus on both sales engineering & solutioning as well as partner ecosystems & channel expansion.
Manish brings to EdgeCortix twenty plus years of experience in a variety of cross-functional technical and business roles at startups and public companies alike in the semiconductor space, including: Modesat, Xillinx, Ethernity Networks and Achronix. Prior to joining EdgeCortix, Manish was a key member of Achronix product planning and business development team where he drove solution development, fostered strategic partnerships and built an industry-wide ecosystem for Achronix FPGA solutions.
Manish holds a Bachelors in Computer Science & Engineering from NIT Trichy, India and completed his MBA from University of Notre Dame, IN, USA.
Manish brings to EdgeCortix twenty plus years of experience in a variety of cross-functional technical and business roles at startups and public companies alike in the semiconductor space, including: Modesat, Xillinx, Ethernity Networks and Achronix. Prior to joining EdgeCortix, Manish was a key member of Achronix product planning and business development team where he drove solution development, fostered strategic partnerships and built an industry-wide ecosystem for Achronix FPGA solutions.
Manish holds a Bachelors in Computer Science & Engineering from NIT Trichy, India and completed his MBA from University of Notre Dame, IN, USA.
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Dr. Atsushi Sunami
President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation
Dr. Atsushi Sunami
President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation
Dr. Sunami is currently serving as the President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. Additionally, Dr. Sunami is a member of the expert group for Economic Security Policy, Government of Japan. He also serves as Chair of the Consortium for Satellite Earth Observation (CONSEO) and Co-Chair of the Luner Industry Vision Council. Sunami also serves as the Director of the SciREX center and Executive Advisor to the President at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and Guest Professor at the Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation at Waseda University. Previously he was the Special Advisor for Science & Technology Innovation Policy, Government of Japan.
James Makoto Takagi
Experienced Business Executive
James Makoto Takagi
Experienced Business Executive
James (Jim) brings over 40 years of experience in vital leadership roles from CEO, COO, and CFO with Fortune 50 global corporations. Jim led business transformation and mergers & acquisitions in five different industries across Asia Pacific, US and Canada.
Previously, Jim served as Managing Director of NBC Universal Japan and prior to that as CFO at Philip Morris International, where he led two key Mergers & Acquisitions deals.
Jim holds a CA degree along with Bachelors in Commerce, Accounting and Law from UBC Canada.
Previously, Jim served as Managing Director of NBC Universal Japan and prior to that as CFO at Philip Morris International, where he led two key Mergers & Acquisitions deals.
Jim holds a CA degree along with Bachelors in Commerce, Accounting and Law from UBC Canada.
Daniel K. Fujii
President & Chief Executive Officer,
Trust Capital Co. Ltd
Daniel K. Fujii
President & Chief Executive Officer,
Trust Capital Co. Ltd
Daniel Fujii is the President & CEO of Trust Capital Co., Ltd. Previously, Mr. Fujii was the Representative Director for Blackstone Group Japan. Before Blackstone, Mr. Fujii spent six years at Shinsei Bank as founder and head of its private equity practice. He has served on the investment committees for several private equity platforms dedicated to leveraged buyouts, retail, infrastructure, PIPES, corporate restructurings, and Greater China opportunities. He currently also serves as a Board Director of the Harvard Club of Japan, Asia Council Board of Phillips Andover, Board of Councilor for US Japan Council, Executive Committee of Silicon Valley Japan Platform, Founding Member of Asia Society Japan, Advisory Board of Asian Cultural Council Japan and Board of Trustees of American School in Japan.
Michael B. Oren
Statesman, Historian, & Former Ambassador to the United States, Israel
Michael B. Oren
Statesman, Historian, & Former Ambassador to the United States, Israel
Historian, statesman, and Israeli leader, Michael Oren served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States, as a Member of Knesset, and as Deputy Minister of Diplomacy in thePrime Minister’s Office. A graduate of Princeton and Columbia, he has taught at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. He holds four honorary doctorates and was awarded the Statesman of the Year Medal by the Washington Institute for NearEast Policy and the Dr. Martin Luther King Legacy Prize. Moving to Israel in1979, he served as a paratrooper in the IDF and participated in several wars, reaching the rank of major. Michael Oren was named by NPR as one of the best college commencement speakers ever, by Politico as one of the fifty most influential thinkers in America, by the Forward as one of the five most influential Jews in America, and by the Jerusalem Post as one of the ten most influential Jews worldwide.
Norishige Morimoto
Chief Technology Officer
& Vice President, IBM Research
& Development - Japan
Norishige Morimoto
Chief Technology Officer
& Vice President, IBM Research
& Development - Japan
Norishige (Noly) Morimoto graduated with a BS of EE from Keio University and joined IBM in 1987 as a hardware engineer. After he earned a MS in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, he joined IBM Research in 1995. In 2004 he led a company-wide collaborative project between IBM Research and IBM Business Consulting Services (IBCS) called On-Demand Innovation Services (ODIS) and worked as a managing consultant at IBCS to deliver new technology to clients and consulted innovation management processes to various companies. In 2005 he returned to research to lead the hardware research group and in 2009, he was appointed to Director of IBM Research-Tokyo. In 2015, Noly took a new position as VP & CTO in IBM Asia Pacific, and since 2017, he served as the VP of IBM Research & Development in Japan. In 2020, he was appointed as a CTO of IBM Japan in addition to his previous role. Noly has more than 20 patents and has over 6000 research citations.
Given the tectonic shift in information processing at the edge, companies are now seeking near cloud level performance where data curation and AI driven decision making can happen together. Due to this shift, the market opportunity for the EdgeCortix solutions set is massive, driven by the practical business need across multiple sectors which require both low power and cost-efficient intelligent solutions. Given the exponential global growth in both data and devices, I am eager to support EdgeCortix in their endeavor to transform the edge AI market with an industry-leading IP portfolio that can deliver performance with orders of magnitude better energy efficiency and a lower total cost of ownership than existing solutions."
Former CEO of MegaChips Corporation
Improving the performance and the energy efficiency of our network infrastructure is a major challenge for the future. Our expectation of EdgeCortix is to be a partner who can provide both the IP and expertise that is needed to tackle these challenges simultaneously."
Head, Research Institute of Advanced Technology at SoftBank Corp
With the unprecedented growth of AI/Machine learning workloads across industries, the solution we're delivering with leading IP provider EdgeCortix complements BittWare's Intel Agilex FPGA-based product portfolio. Our customers have been searching for this level of AI inferencing solution to increase performance while lowering risk and cost across a multitude of business needs both today and in the future."
VP, Sales and Marketing at BittWare
EdgeCortix is in a truly unique market position. Beyond simply taking advantage of the massive need and growth opportunity in leveraging AI across many business key sectors, it’s the business strategy with respect to how they develop their solutions for their go-to-market that will be the great differentiator. In my experience, most technology companies focus very myopically, on delivering great code or perhaps semiconductor design. EdgeCortix’s secret sauce is in how they’ve co-developed their IP, applying equal importance to both the software IP and the chip design, creating a symbiotic software-centric hardware ecosystem, this sets EdgeCortix apart in the marketplace.”
President & CEO of Trust Capital Co., Ltd., member of the Executive Committee of Silicon Valley Japan Platform
We recognized immediately the value of adding the MERA compiler and associated tool set to the RZ/V MPU series, as we expect many of our customers to implement application software including AI technology. As we drive innovation to meet our customer's needs, we are collaborating with EdgeCortix to rapidly provide our customers with robust, high-performance and flexible AI-inference solutions. The EdgeCortix team has been terrific, and we are excited by the future opportunities and possibilities for this ongoing relationship."
Vice President, Enterprise Infrastructure Business Division