10 Cisco alumni who founded companies
Each of these Cisco alumni who founded companies held an engineering or product role at Cisco before starting the company they lead today as founder or co-founder. A reader can learn how people who worked at Cisco went on to build companies, from the founders themselves.
Professionals to explore
Amit Patel
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder, CTO & VP Engineering · Ciroos
Amit Patel was Vice President of Engineering at Cisco from 2023 to 2024, and has been Co-Founder, CTO & VP Engineering of Ciroos since 2025.
Harris H.
LinkedInExperience: Founder and CEO · Kumorai
Harris H. was Director of Engineering - CTO Org- Cloud & Network Services at Cisco from 2019 to 2022, and has been Founder and CEO of Kumorai since 2022. The profile headline describes Kumorai's work as governing infrastructure automation at scale.
Krishnan Ramaswamy
LinkedInExperience: Co-founder and CTO · OSpectra.ai
Krishnan Ramaswamy was Technical Leader - Gen AI and LLM Applications at Cisco from 2024 to 2026, and has been Co-founder and CTO of OSpectra.ai since 2026. The profile headline describes OSpectra.ai as a Health & Home Care AI Platform.
Ranga Rao
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder · Fractl Inc.
Ranga Rao was Senior Director of Product Management and Solutions Engineering at Cisco from 2013 to 2021, and has been Co-Founder of Fractl Inc. since 2023.
Ray Bell
LinkedInExperience: Founder & CEO · Aetheros
Ray Bell was CTO/Sr Dir Engineering, Service Provider Business Unit at Cisco from 1996 to 1999, and has been Founder & CEO of Aetheros since 2019. The profile describes Ray Bell as a serial entrepreneur who creates and leads software and hardware product companies.
Ronnie Ray
LinkedInExperience: Co-founder & CEO, Trumio Inc. · Trumio Inc.
Ronnie Ray was Chief Technology Officer, Customer Experience at Cisco in 2022, and has been Co-founder & CEO, Trumio Inc. of Trumio Inc. since 2022. The profile describes Trumio as creating new opportunities for global talent to find purpose, engagement and fulfilling work experiences.
Sumeet Singh
LinkedInExperience: Founder & CEO · Aptori
Sumeet Singh was Data Center Architect - Principal Engineer at Cisco from 2005 to 2012, and has been Founder & CEO of Aptori since 2021. The profile describes Aptori as an AI-powered security engineer embedded directly into the SDLC.
Swapnil Pathrikar
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder | CEO · Sentire Logic
Swapnil Pathrikar was Director SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING at Cisco from 2000 to 2024, and has been Co-Founder | CEO of Sentire Logic since 2025. The profile headline describes driving execution to productionize agentic AI.
Tony Lopresti
LinkedInExperience: Founder and Chief AI Officer · HelloAdmin
Tony Lopresti was Senior Director of Product Management, Collaboration & Contact Center at Cisco from 2018 to 2026, and has been Founder and Chief AI Officer of HelloAdmin since 2026. The profile describes driving the vision, product and GTM strategy for HelloAdmin.
Val Agostino
LinkedInExperience: Co-founder & CEO · Monarch
Val Agostino was Sr. Director, Head of Product and Growth at Cisco from 2017 to 2018, and has been Co-founder & CEO of Monarch since 2018. The profile describes Monarch as a comprehensive platform for managing all aspects of your personal finances.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's role at Cisco, such as engineering leadership or product management, to the part of the path from employee to founder you want to understand. Check when each company was started to judge how recent the person's experience of the early stage is.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01What from your work at Cisco turned out to be most useful when you started your own company?
- 02How did you decide what problem your company would work on?
- 03What did you have to learn quickly that your Cisco role had not prepared you for?
Reaching Cisco alumni who founded companies
How can I contact one of these Cisco alumni who founded companies?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 10 companies, including Ciroos, Kumorai and OSpectra.ai, based on profile data retrieved on October 25, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach Cisco alumni who founded companies?
You choose the offer, starting at $5 per person. The offer is what the person receives, and Instant Expert's fee is added on top, so a $100 offer costs you $125. The fee is 20% of what you pay. You're charged only when the person books the call or sends the answer.
What if they don't reply?
You pay nothing. Instant Expert sends follow-up reminders, and if the person hasn't booked or answered within 7 days, the request expires and any hold on your card is released. You can invite several of the 10 people on this list at once and cap your total spend, so you pay only for the ones who accept.
Can an AI agent ask one of these Cisco alumni who founded companies a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. Claude and ChatGPT can do the same through the Instant Expert connector: setup is at /docs/mcp for Claude and /docs/chatgpt for ChatGPT. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.