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Francis deSouza

Founder

Board director at Deel · Founder at Synth Labs

San Francisco, California, United States

FoundedSynth Labs

Find your path to Francis

968 people in our graph share verified history with Francis — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Tyler WilsonunlockedFrancis: together at The Walt Disney Company (2019–2020)
×6Francis: together at Scale AI
Francis: together at IBM
Francis: together at Deel

About

Francis deSouza is Chief Executive Officer of Scale AI. He co-founded SynthLabs, an AI alignment company backed by Microsoft and First Spark; IMlogic, an IT security firm acquired by Symantec; and Flash Communications, an instant messaging company acquired by Microsoft. He previously served as CEO of Illumina, President at Symantec, and Product Unit Manager at Microsoft.

Board director at DeelYC W19

Intro paths

YC

Deel went through Y Combinator (Winter 2019) — Francis sits on its board, so any YC alum in your network can reach them through the company's founders.

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In turn, Francis can intro founders to Deel's investors below.

Deel's investors · 42

Alpha Square GroupNew YorkAltaIR CapitalHerzliyaAltos VenturesBurlingame · $1M – $3M checksAmplo VenturesSpringAndreessen HorowitzMenlo Park · $500K – $50M checks · since 2020Balaji Srinivasan$10K – $500K checksCoatue ManagementNew York · $1M – $20M checksElad GilSan Francisco · $100K – $10M checksEmergeLondon · $500K – $2.5M checksFirebolt Ventures Management Company, LlcPalo AltoFormus CapitalFounders Circle CapitalSan FranciscoGeneral CatalystSan Francisco · $30M checksGlobal Founders CapitalBerlin · $637K – $32M checksGreen Bay VenturesMenlo ParkJam FundLos Angeles · $500K – $20M checksKima VenturesParis · $50K – $5M checksKindred CapitalLondonLa FamigliaBerlinLG Technology VenturesSanta ClaraNight CapitalCapitolaPICUS CAPITALMunich · $100K – $300M checksQuest VenturesSingapore · $50K – $10M checksRecall CapitalSan Bruno · $300K – $1M checksRibbit CapitalPalo Alto · $100K – $15M checks · since 2025Roosh VenturesKievS32Palo AltoSaban VenturesTel AvivSection 32Palo AltoSoma CapitalSacramento · $100K – $300K checksSozo VenturesRedwood CitySpark CapitalSan Francisco · $500K – $25M checks · since 2023SV AngelSan FranciscoSwell PartnersNew York City · $500K – $600K checksValkyrie Ventures Management, LlcPark CityVillage GlobalCovina · $100K – $500K checksVintage Investment PartnersHerzliya PituachW venturesBerlin · $696K – $64M checksWEEKENDMiami · $100K – $300K checksWndrCoRedwood City · $100K – $10M checksWorklife VenturesWalnut · $500K – $2M checksY CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2019

Co-founders at Deel

ABAlex Bouaziz
Alex BouazizFounder/CEO
SWShuo Wang
Shuo WangFounder/CRO
AB
Alexandre BouazizExecutive Officer, Director, Promoter
OS
Ofer SimonFormer Co-Founder

Founder at Synth Labs

Intro paths

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In turn, Francis can intro founders to Synth Labs's investors below.

Synth Labs's investors · 2

First Spark Ventures, LlcMenlo ParkM12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund)Seattle · $100K – $10M checks

Co-founders at Synth Labs

NLNathan Lile
Nathan LileFounder

Experience

  1. Scale AIChief Executive Officercurrent2026 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  2. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMember of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Schwarzman College of Computingcurrent2025 — presentCambridge, Massachusetts, United States
  3. Oath Inc.Board Membercurrent2025 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  4. DeelInvestor and Board Membercurrent2024 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  5. InvestorStartup Investor and Advisorcurrent1998 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  6. GoogleChief Operating Officer and Persident of Security Products, Google Cloud2025 — 2026Sunnyvale, CA
  7. The Walt Disney CompanyBoard Member2018 — 2024Burbank, California
  8. IlluminaCEO2016 — 2023
  9. IlluminaPresident2013 — 2016
  10. CitrixBoard Director2014 — 2016
  11. SymantecPresident, Products and Services2011 — 2013
  12. SymantecSenior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Security Group2007 — 2011
  13. SymantecVice President, Enterprise Messaging Management2006 — 2007
  14. IMlogicFounder and CEO2001 — 2006
  15. Microsoft Corp.Product Unit Manager, Real-time Collaboration, Exchange Group1998 — 2001
  16. Flash Communications Inc. - acquired by MicrosoftCo-founder and CEO1997 — 1998
  17. The VenCom GroupVice President1995 — 1997
  18. CapgeminiSenior Consultant1992 — 1995
  19. IBMMember of the Technical Staff1990 — 1992TJ Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights
  20. MIT Media LabResearcher1987 — 1988Cambridge, Massachusetts

Skills & more

Strategy99Management85Leadership78Product Management99Entrepreneurship99Cloud Computing99Security99Go-to-market Strategy99Business Strategy83Start-ups68Sales54Mergers & Acquisitions48
+12 moreBusiness DevelopmentSoftware IndustryVenture CapitalProgram ManagementOutsourcingProduct MarketingProfessional ServicesProduct DevelopmentBig DataMarketingEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

From Francis's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Francis deSouza?
Francis deSouza is Chief Executive Officer of Scale AI. He co-founded SynthLabs, an AI alignment company backed by Microsoft and First Spark; IMlogic, an IT security firm acquired by Symantec; and Flash Communications, an instant messaging company acquired by Microsoft. He previously served as CEO of Illumina, President at Symantec, and Product Unit Manager at Microsoft.
Where does Francis deSouza work?
Francis deSouza is Founder of Synth Labs and Board director at Deel.
What companies did Francis deSouza found?
Francis deSouza founded Synth Labs.
Where did Francis deSouza go to school?
Francis deSouza studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Master Of Science, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Bachelor's of Science, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science); St Mary's Catholic High School.

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