Investment Stage

Focus Areas

About Investor

Dr. Rana el Kaliouby is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Blue Tulip Ventures, an early-stage AI-focused venture firm she co-founded with Gabi Zijderveld (former Affectiva/Smart Eye CMO) investing in "Human-Centric AI" — AI that is good for people, good for the planet, and ethical, built with diverse teams. She is also Venture Partner at AI Operators Fund (her "Fund 0," co-founded 2021 with Rob May, $12M, 40 AI startups, 100% of desired deals won), AI Partner at BY Venture Partners, and Executive Fellow at both Harvard Business School and BOLD Capital Partners. She holds a PhD in machine learning and computer vision from Cambridge University and completed a postdoc at MIT Media Lab, where in 2009 she co-founded Affectiva — pioneering the "Emotion AI" category and raising $50M+ — serving as CEO until its 2021 acquisition by Smart Eye (Swedish public company), where she remains an AI Advisor. Her bestselling memoir "Girl Decoded" (Penguin Random House, 2020) chronicles her journey from Egypt to AI pioneer. She hosts the "Pioneers of AI" podcast, was named a LinkedIn Top Voice (May 2026), and is a vocal advocate against AI's "boys' club" dynamics — 3 of 4 Blue Tulip portfolio companies have women CEOs. She serves as a Trustee of the Boston Museum of Science and Milton Academy, and is a Board Member at Videra Health.