April 2025 Cohort

Aaron Frank is a researcher, writer, and consultant who has spent a decade working in Silicon Valley. As a writer, his articles have appeared in Vice, Wired UK, Forbes, and Venturebeat. He routinely advises large companies, startups, and government organizations on trends related to a broad set of emerging technologies, with a focus on augmented/virtual reality and virtual environments

Alix is a researcher in philosophy of technology and the Director of Curated and Research Content at Singularity. She investigates the societal and cultural impact of exponential technologies. Her current research centres around two large scale projects. The first focus is on the effects of automated decision-making algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and algorithmic bias.

Arash Aazami is here for the big change: a world where every individual has the right to harvest, use and share nature’s ever-existing energy abundance. As founder of Unify.energy, global advocate for the Internet of Energy and chairman of UniversalRight, Arash inspires future-makers accross the globe to rethink energy and the role they can play in the establishment of a new 100% renewables-based, inclusive and just energy reality for all. After careers in music and online tech he founded the first energy company that earns more as it sells less energy, and his Path to Zero business model was awarded by MIT in 2014. His keynotes merge deep understanding of energy-related trends, geopolitics and digital technologies with the human elements: mindset, social design, values and ethics. As a strategic advisor, Arash has worked with the International Energy Agency, Singularity University, IRENA, the European Commission and multiple governments as well as a wide array of enterprises in energy, telco, IT, and various industries, bringing the Internet of Energy onto their strategic agendas. He has presented hundreds of keynotes and workshops for Singularity University, TEDx, European Commission, IEA, Blockchain Summit, IFMA, Young Presidents Organization, SXSW, Tomorrowland, The Next Web and many others, and was invited by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2022 for a dialogue on energy and climate. He also developed and curated various tech and energy hackathons, as well as Europe’s largest sustainability conference in collaboration with Tomorrowland: Love Tomorrow Conference. Arash wrote several publications and reports: From Volume to Value, Smart Multi Commodity Grid, Deltagrid 2050, and The Netherlands’ policy agenda for energy and digitalization ‘More than the Sum of all Parts’. His keynotes are widely acclaimed as insightful, inspiring, hope-giving and paradigm-shifting.

Darlene Damm is an impact-driven visionary who pioneered the impact technology industry. She co-founded two of the world’s first impact technology companies in aerospace and drone transport, and as former Faculty Chair and Vice President of Community and Impact at Singularity University, taught and mentored thousands of founders and executives who went on to build impact technology companies in every industry including Ag Tech, Food Tech, Ed Tech, Climate Tech, Gov Tech, Health Tech, and more. Darlene received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, her master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS), was a fellow with Japan-US Community Education and Exchange, is an advisor to the UN World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator, was a mentor with Google’s impact accelerator, a judge for Stanford BASES, and served on the Biden Administration’s Working Group on Cross Border Trade. She holds patents in drone technology and Authority Magazine featured her as a social impact hero. She is also the author of Your Dream Job is Here: The Impact Technology Revolution and the New Jobs Saving the World. Her journey seamlessly merges technology and social impact. As the founder of DIYROCKETS, she pioneered crowdsourced space tech in 2012, and co-founding Matternet in 2011, she reshaped medical deliveries with drones in developing nations. Before Singularity University, Darlene empowered youth across Asia and the US, contributing to economies. Her role at Ashoka led to significant funding and partnerships with tech giants, while initiatives like StartEmpathy impacted over 30 countries. Darlene holds a degree from Stanford University, a master's from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and her patent, speaking engagements and publications attest to her expertise in technology, innovation and social change.

Dr. Mark Nasila is a Chief Data and Analytics Officer at FNB Risk. He is a PhD, MSc, Keynote Speaker, Professor of Practice in AI, AI Specialist, and AI Advisory Board Member.

Hla Hla Win is a longtime educator and social entrepreneur who dares to dream and brings her dream into reality with Augmented Reality. Hla Hla is best known for creating next-generation interactive learning apps for young learners in the most challenging community.

Hod, an expert on AI and robotics, understands both the current and future potential of AI. His work on self-aware and self-replicating robots has captured the world's attention. He has co-authored over 300 papers that have been cited more than 27,000 times.

For over 20 years, Ja-Naé Duane has been on a mission: improving the lives of a billion people. A renowned behavioral scientist, innovator and expert in global systems, she specializes in leveraging emerging technologies like VR/AR, AI and blockchain to shape the future. Ja-Naé collaborates with corporations, governments and universities, guiding them to transcend limitations and embrace exponential innovation. Notable entities such as PWC, Samsonite and Deloitte have benefited from her insights. As a top-rated Singularity University speaker and author of "The Startup Equation," Ja-Naé excels in empowering startups and multinational firms, redefining business models for global impact. Recognized by The Associated Press, NPR and BusinessWeek, she holds degrees from prestigious institutions like Brown University and I.E. Business School. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. with a focus on the future of information systems, Ja-Naé is also a research fellow at MIT's Center of Information Systems Research.

Jonathan explores the dynamics of large-scale, long term change with a focus on beyond the horizon technologies, providing insight on the evolving role of applied innovation. Jonathan is a founding Singularity Expert and has worked at Apple, Adobe, and Autodesk.

Jun Axup is Chief Science Officer and Partner at IndieBio, the world's leading life science accelerator.

Naveen is an intensely curious entrepreneur who is focused on ideas that will push humanity forward. He is the author of the award-winning book Moonshots: Creating a World of Abundance. His current moonshot adventures are Viome and Moon Express. As a serial entrepreneur, he previously founded InfoSpace, Intelius, and TalentWise.

Eleanor ‘Nell’ Watson, a pioneering ethics and machine intelligence researcher, has been a driving force behind some of the most crucial AI ethics standardization and certification initiatives from organizations such as the IEEE.

Sharron is co-founder and executive director at The Centre for Disruptive Technologies which leverages an impressive Africa-wide and global network of experts in disruptive technologies to advise government and businesses on the implementation of digital transformation strategies. In addition, she is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer – Project Finance at the University of Cape Town – Graduate School of Business where she focusses on smart city technologies and sustainable, nexus investing for development. Sharron is also an enterprise development expert having launched some of the first impact investment funds in Africa. She is co-founder & shareholder of Women in Infrastructure Development & Energy (WINDE). WINDE is one of the largest and most impactful women’s infrastructure investment consortiums in Africa. She is also a founder of the Adventure Capitalists Network which invests in game changing ideas being developed by teens and university students.

Suzanne Gildert is Founder and CEO of Nirvanic AI, and is obsessed with understanding the depths and power of the human mind. Her current project is focused on creating technologies to understand, expand and network human consciousness. Suzanne also co-founded and was CTO of Sanctuary AI, and founded Kindred AI in 2014. Kindred was acquired by Ocado in 2020. Suzanne also has deep expertise in quantum computing from her time at D-Wave Systems, and has a Ph.D. in experimental physics from the University of Birmingham, UK. She is also a published digital artist and poet, has worked as a graphic designer, and pioneered a technique for creating art using a quantum computer.