10 IBM alumni who founded companies
Each of these IBM alumni who founded companies worked at IBM, in research, engineering, sales, strategy and technology leadership roles, before starting the company they run now as founder or co-founder. A reader can learn how people who worked at IBM went on to build companies, from the founders themselves.
Professionals to explore
Abhijit Manatkar
LinkedInExperience: Co-founder and CTO · Layrd
Abhijit Manatkar was Research Engineer at IBM from 2023 to 2025, and has been Co-founder and CTO of Layrd since 2025.
Alex Porcelli
LinkedInExperience: Co-founder and CEO · Aletyx, Inc.
Alex Porcelli was STSM, Chief Architect and Engineer Leader at IBM from 2012 to 2024, and has been Co-founder and CEO of Aletyx, Inc. since 2025. Alex Porcelli lists work on Drools, jBPM and Kogito, open-source rules and workflow technology.
Anirban Dutta
LinkedInExperience: Co - Founder, CEO & Board Member · CompuMatrice
Anirban Dutta was Sales Executive at IBM from 2005 to 2007, and has been Co - Founder, CEO & Board Member of CompuMatrice since 2011.
Dan Lahav
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder & CEO · Irregular
Dan Lahav was Researcher (IBM AI Research division) at IBM from 2018 to 2023, and has been Co-Founder & CEO of Irregular since 2023.
Dr. Chitra Dorai
LinkedInExperience: Founder and CEO · Amicus Brain Innovations
Chitra Dorai was IBM Fellow, VP and CTO, Cognitive Solutions and Services at IBM from 2015 to 2018, and has been Founder and CEO of Amicus Brain Innovations since 2018.
Gregory McKim
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder intessellate, Inc. · intessellate
Gregory McKim was Chief Technology Officer - Energy, Environment, and Utilities at IBM from 2017 to 2021, and has been Co-Founder of intessellate since 2025.
Jeff Jonas
LinkedInExperience: CEO, Founder and Chief Scientist · Senzing
Jeff Jonas was IBM Fellow and Chief Scientist Context Computing at IBM from 2005 to 2016, and has been CEO, Founder and Chief Scientist of Senzing since 2016. Jeff Jonas describes the work as creating entity resolution systems.
Neil Deshmukh
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder & CTO · Sola
Neil Deshmukh was Researcher at MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab at IBM from 2020 to 2021, and has been Co-Founder & CTO of Sola since 2023. Neil Deshmukh describes Sola as building the next generation of process automation.
Nigel Beck
LinkedInExperience: CEO and Founder · When Labs
Nigel Beck was Vice President, Corporate Development, Business Development, Strategy at IBM from 2010 to 2015, and has been CEO and Founder of When Labs since 2015.
Usman Memon
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder & Managing Partner · Streebo
Usman Memon was Technical Sales Leader at IBM from 2005 to 2008, and has been Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Streebo since 2009.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's role at IBM, such as research, architecture, sales or corporate development, 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 IBM 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 IBM role had not prepared you for?
Reaching IBM alumni who founded companies
How can I contact one of these IBM 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 Layrd; Aletyx, Inc. and CompuMatrice, 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 IBM 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 IBM 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.