AI Strategy, Growth & Investments

Stephen Torres is an international entrepreneur, educator, and speaker with a proven track record in consumer products, technology, renewable energy, entertainment, academia, and finance. He has founded two startups that were successfully acquired and played a key role in taking them public.

Currently, he is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ellerra, providing financial intelligence to startups and private businesses, and mentors founders through The Compendium Group. Passionate about developing entrepreneurial leaders, Stephen teaches and coaches innovators across industries, having served as an Industry Fellow and faculty member at UC Berkeley — where he hosts the Berkeley Innovation Podcast and leads entrepreneurship and leadership courses.

He holds a BA from UC Berkeley, an MBA from Cornell University, and an MS in Learning, Design, and Technology from Stanford University.

Marija Josifovska is a growth strategist and investment banking professional who partners with VC- and PE-backed companies to drive revenue expansion, improve EBITDA, and strengthen exit positioning through AI-enabled marketing and discovery systems. As Co-Founder and CEO of Tripoverse, she built an AI-powered travel platform integrating 360° VR experiences, personalized recommendations, and scalable SEO-driven growth.

With a background spanning banking, economics, and startup operations, Marija combines capital markets insight with hands-on execution—designing the frameworks, partnerships, and AI systems that make companies more visible, efficient, and valuable to investors.

Vinutha Narayan is a strategic leader with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of business, technology, and innovation, having held senior leadership roles at Google and Amazon. Currently, she serves as a Forum Member and Contributor at OpenAI, contributes to the Stanford Alumni Women's Network Executive Board (including as Treasurer and Executive Board Member), and works as a Fractional Executive and Executive Coach advising CxOs, founders, and leaders on strategy, go-to-market, partnerships, and AI integration.

She holds a Master of Science in Learning, Design, and Technology from Stanford University, where she was advised by a Nobel Laureate and twice received the LDT Fellowship; she is a frequent speaker on leadership and women in business and an angel investor focused on AI, consumer, enterprise, and EdTech startups.

Sophie Ren is a serial entrepreneur and AI-driven product innovator who founded and leads Chatslide.AI (formerly DrLambda), a platform that transforms documents into dynamic digital workspaces, and previously created DouXing, an AI-powered e-learning gamification partner for brands such as Bayer, Hermès, Dunkin' Donuts and Yum Foods. A Forbes 30 Under 30 (2017) and Hurun 30 Under 30 (2018) honoree, she applies cognitive science and AI to accelerate adult learning, holds numerous patents and publications, and is a TEDx speaker.

She also serves on the Stanford Entrepreneurs Board and advises startups through leadership roles with Stanford Founders and Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs United.

Sudeep Badjatia is a strategic thought leader with extensive experience advising Fortune 100 clients on AI, data, and enterprise technology transformation, having worked closely with executive leadership across industries to deliver scalable platforms, innovation strategies, and measurable business impact. A patent holder in cloud computing and a venture capital advisor, he serves as CEO & Chief AI Architect at Valutics, where he drives AI, data, cloud, and business transformation initiatives, and contributes as an advisor and speaker at UC Berkeley and California universities.

He holds an MBA from Cornell University.

Chinat Yu is an AI researcher, educator, and founder dedicated to advancing AI-integrated, hands-on learning to empower the next generation of innovators. He founded Quest2Learn, an award-winning mixed reality platform enhancing science education through augmented and virtual reality applications, drawing on his expertise in generative AI and human-AI collaboration developed during research at Microsoft Research.

A Stanford Learning, Design and Technology graduate and MLH Top 50 honoree, Chinat brings a strong foundation in computer science from Johns Hopkins University to his work designing educational technologies like Key Concept Gen, which leverages Whisper AI and GPT-4 to create visual learning aids.

He actively teaches AI, mentors hackathon participants, and speaks on the future of AI in education.

Li Jiang is the director of Stanford's AI Robotics and Education (AIRE) program and an Adjunct Lecturer in Design Courses at Stanford University, where he teaches ME 268: Robotics, AI and Design of Future Education and EDUC 468: Robotics, AI and Design of Future Education. Holding a Ph.D. in Operations Management from McGill University, Dr.

Jiang brings extensive expertise in robotics and AI research, with a focus on how these technologies will transform education systems.

Recognized as a "Best of Innovations" winner at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, he is a leading voice in AI research and educational technology development, actively working to adapt learning environments for the era of artificial intelligence and robotics.

Dr. Paul Kim is the Chief Technology Officer and Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. He leads initiatives involving the design of learning technologies, educational research, and community development. In a trans-disciplinary project aiming to promote innovation and competition by constructing a Programmable and Open Mobile Internet (POMI 2020), Dr. Kim designs and implements mobile technologies and social learning environments.

Dr. Kim has dedicated himself to international development through education and information technology strategies and has advised Saudi Arabia's national online education initiative, the national evaluation of Uruguay's One Laptop Per Child project, Rwanda's national ICT planning, and institutional advancement efforts for numerous universities.