Rana el Kaliouby is an Egyptian-American scientist, entrepreneur, angel investor, author, and an AI thought leader on a mission to bring emotional intelligence to our digital world. She is co-founder and Managing Partner at Blue Tulip Ventures, an early-stage venture firm that invests in start-ups building human-centric AI.
Previously, el Kaliouby was Co-Founder and CEO of Affectiva, an MIT Media Lab spin-off and category-defining Emotion AI company. Under her leadership, Affectiva built the world’s largest emotion data repository and developed groundbreaking emotion-sensing algorithms used globally. She successfully led the company to acquisition by Smart Eye in June 2021 and now focuses on scaling Smart Eye into a global AI powerhouse as Deputy CEO.
A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in technology and leadership, el Kaliouby actively works to expand opportunities for underrepresented founders and funders. She serves on the Boston Steering Committee for All Raise, is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and serves on its New England board, and is a Venture Partner at the MIT Media Lab E14 Fund. She also serves on the Board of SIMPEDs at Boston Children’s Hospital and on the Boards of Trustees of the Mass Technology Leadership Council and the American University in Cairo.
El Kaliouby is an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, where she teaches on AI and entrepreneurship. Her memoir, Girl Decoded: A Scientist’s Quest to Reclaim Our Humanity by Bringing Emotional Intelligence to Technology traces her personal journey, from growing up in the Middle East to becoming a tech entrepreneur in the United States, interwoven with her work advancing Emotion AI.
El Kaliouby has been recognised among Fortune’s 40 Under 40, Forbes’ Top 50 Women in Tech, Entrepreneur’s 100 Women of Influence, Newsweek’s Top Disruptors, and the Boston Globe’s Top 50 Tech Power Players. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and completed her postdoctoral work at MIT.
