10 NVIDIA alumni who founded companies
Each of these NVIDIA alumni who founded companies worked at NVIDIA, in engineering, research, architecture or product roles, before starting the company they run now as founder or co-founder. A reader can learn how people who worked at NVIDIA went on to build companies, from the founders themselves.
Professionals to explore
Durgesh Srivastava
LinkedInExperience: CTO and Co-Founder · DataraAI
Durgesh Srivastava was Data Center Product Architect and Senior Director at NVIDIA from 2021 to 2024, and has been CTO and Co-Founder of DataraAI since 2025, based in Cupertino, California. Durgesh Srivastava was also Chief Technology Officer at MIPS from 2024 to 2025.
Gagan Daroach
LinkedInExperience: Founder & CEO · Dekho
Gagan Daroach was a Machine Learning Engineer at NVIDIA from 2021 to 2026, and has been Founder & CEO of Dekho since 2026, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Gagan Daroach was also an Applied Research Intern at NVIDIA in 2020 and EECS System Administrator at Milwaukee School of Engineering from 2020 to 2021.
Hershal Bhave
LinkedInExperience: Founder, CEO · Haunt Industries
Hershal Bhave was Senior GPU Architect at NVIDIA from 2016 to 2026, and has been Founder, CEO of Haunt Industries since 2026, based in Austin, Texas. Hershal Bhave was also a GPU Architecture Intern at NVIDIA in 2015 and a Pre-Silicon Validation Intern at Intel from 2012 to 2015.
Junjie Bai
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder · Intent Lab
Junjie Bai was Senior Director, Physical AI at NVIDIA from 2025 to 2026, and has been Co-Founder of Intent Lab since 2026, based in Sunnyvale, California. Junjie Bai was also Co-Founder of Lepton AI from 2023 to 2025 and Director, AI Platform at Alibaba Group from 2020 to 2023.
Raj Bains
LinkedInExperience: Founder CEO · Prophecy
Raj Bains was Senior Software Engineer at NVIDIA from 2007 to 2011, and has been Founder CEO of Prophecy since 2017, based in the Denver metropolitan area. Raj Bains describes being a founding engineer on the compilers side of the CUDA team at NVIDIA.
Shai Waxman
LinkedInExperience: Founder & CEO · Sensonnect
Shai Waxman was Principal DSP architect at NVIDIA from 2020 to 2025, and has been Founder & CEO of Sensonnect since 2025, based in Sunnyvale, California. Shai Waxman was also Principal DSP architect at Maxim Integrated from 2013 to 2019 and Director of DSP at BridgeWave Communications from 2010 to 2013.
Subhan Ali
LinkedInExperience: CoFounder · Gekit
Subhan Ali was AI Product Leader at NVIDIA from 2023 to 2025 and Senior Developer Relations Manager for Generative AI and Consumer Internet there from 2019 to 2023, and has been CoFounder of Gekit since 2025, based in San Jose, California. Subhan Ali was also Senior Product Manager, Trust & Data Science at eBay from 2017 to 2018.
Towaki Takikawa
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder CEO · Outerport
Towaki Takikawa was a Research Scientist at NVIDIA from 2020 to 2023, and has been Co-Founder CEO of Outerport since 2024, based in San Francisco. Towaki Takikawa was also a Research Scientist Intern at NVIDIA in 2019 and Software Director at WATonomous from 2017 to 2020.
Yangqing Jia
LinkedInExperience: Cofounder, CEO · Intent Lab
Yangqing Jia was VP, System Software at NVIDIA from 2025 to 2026, and has been Cofounder, CEO of Intent Lab since 2026. Yangqing Jia was also Co-Founder & CEO of Lepton AI from 2023 to 2025 and VP Eng / GM, AI and Data Analytics at Alibaba Group from 2019 to 2023.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's role at NVIDIA, such as GPU architecture, systems software, research or product, 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 NVIDIA 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 NVIDIA role had not prepared you for?
Reaching NVIDIA alumni who founded companies
How can I contact one of these NVIDIA 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 9 companies, including RAFA AI, DataraAI and Dekho, based on profile data retrieved on October 26, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach NVIDIA 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 NVIDIA 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.