Fundraising Fox

Francis deSouza

Founder

Founder at Synth Labs

San Francisco, California, United States

FoundedSynth Labs

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.

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.
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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