About
Rush Shahani is co-founder of Persana AI. He has spent five years working as an AI engineer with a focus on natural language processing, and previously held roles at LinkedIn, ElementAI (which was acquired), and Shopify.
Founder at Persana AIYC W23
Intro paths
YC
Rush went through Y Combinator (Winter 2023) β any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
GP
Their group partner at YC was Aaron Epstein, General Partner at Y Combinator β the partner who ran Persana AI's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile β
β
In turn, Rush can intro founders to Persana AI's investors below.
Persana AI's investors Β· 2
Co-founders at Persana AI
SM
Sriya MaramCo-founder and CEO
SM
Sriya MFounder
Experience
- RoxEngineering Lead, Prospectingcurrent2025 β presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- Manning Publications Co.Authorcurrent2024 β presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- Persana AICo-Founder & CTO (acq)2023 β 2025San Francisco Bay Area
- Orange CollectiveVenture Partner2023 β 2025San Francisco Bay Area
- LinkedInSenior Software Engineer2019 β 2023San Francisco Bay Area
- University of WaterlooAI Researcher2019Kitchener, Canada Area
- Element AIAI Engineer, NLP2018Montreal, Canada Area
- LinkedInSoftware Engineer2018Sunnyvale, California
- ShopifySoftware Engineer2016 β 2017
- LoyaltyOneSoftware Engineer2015Toronto, Canada Area
- John Fraser SecondaryComputer Science Teaching Assistant2013 β 2014Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Skills & more
Teamwork10Problem Solving6Leadership7Artificial Intelligence (AI)28Sales27Entrepreneurship22Object Oriented Design10Programming12Android Development7Software Development10Web Development7Distributed Systems2
+12 more
Data StructuresAlgorithmsMachine LearningDistributed ApplicationsChatbot DesignChatbot DevelopmentCloud DevelopmentRacketJavaJavaScriptPythonHTML5- Natural Language Processing with Classification and Vector Spaces β Coursera
- Building Chatbots Using Google Dialogflow β LinkedIn
- Neural Networks and Deep Learning β Coursera
From Rush's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Rush Shahani?
- Rush Shahani is co-founder of Persana AI. He has spent five years working as an AI engineer with a focus on natural language processing, and previously held roles at LinkedIn, ElementAI (which was acquired), and Shopify.
- Where does Rush Shahani work?
- Rush Shahani is Founder of Persana AI.
- What companies did Rush Shahani found?
- Rush Shahani founded Persana AI.
- Where did Rush Shahani go to school?
- Rush Shahani studied at Y Combinator; University of Waterloo (Honours Bachelor of Computer Science, Computer Science); John Fraser Secondary.
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia8,773
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Y Combinator mafia4,716
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Ryan SheaEntrepreneurshipFounded StacksTarek MansourFounded KalshiSuhail DoshiEating beans & riceFounded Playground +1Subomi OluwalanaW22Founded ConvoyDarius "Bubs" MonsefS19Founded Sightbox +3Matthew ScholzFounded Oisin Biotechnologies +3
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University of Waterloo mafia200
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Apoorva MehtaBAScFounded InstacartZach WaterfieldComputer EngineeringFounded Zettlor +1Peter CarresciaBMathFounded GoConfirm +1Eric BlondeelDoctor of Philosophy - PhDFounded Samos Insurance +1Oleg KostourHonours Bachelor of Architectural StudiesFounded AtlasGrid +1Anton KrutianskyBachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.)Founded AtlasGrid +1
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LinkedIn mafia77
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Peter ThielInvestorFounded PayPal +1Reid HoffmanCo-founder & ChairmanFounded Manas AI +1Dylan FieldData Analytics InternFounded FigmaGordon WintrobEngineering ManagerFounded Newfrontinsurance +2Eric RowellSenior Frontend EngineerFounded Uiflow +2Josephine LeeSoftware Engineering InternFounded Palette Labs +1
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Shopify mafia33
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Tobias LΓΌtkeCEOFounded ShopifyCraig SoulesPrincipal EngineerFounded Springtail +1Jordan DearsleySoftware Engineer InternFounded Superpowered +1Chirag PatelVP Product & GM MoneyFounded PaysafeJonathan PomaDirector, Go-to-Market InitiativesFounded LoopMisha FrolovStaff Product DesignerFounded More Labs
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Same school
Also attended Y Combinator2,000
Tarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of KalshiSuhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of ParticleSubomi OluwalanaCo-founder & CEO of ConvoyArhaan A.Deeptech Fellow at Clear VenturesMaroof AhmedFounder at Octopus VenturesJustin SwartPartner at Bitkraft Esports Ventures
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Also attended University of Waterloo437
Chamath PalihapitiyaFounder & CEO of Social CapitalApoorva MehtaFounder of Instacart; founder of Cloud Health SystemsAchintya ChaudhariInvestor at LightbankKarim GillaniGeneral Partner at Luge CapitalRohan MongaInvestment Associate at Luge CapitalAndrew MiklasGeneral Partner at Y Combinator
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Shared employers
Also worked at Manning Publications Co.3
Also worked at Persana AI1
Also worked at LinkedIn214
Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders FundReid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockKeith RaboisManaging Director at Khosla VenturesDavid SzeAdvisory Partner at GreylockJeremy LevinePartner at Bessemer Venture PartnersDylan FieldCo-founder, CEO & Chair of Figma
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Also worked at University of Waterloo85
Rohan MongaInvestment Associate at Luge CapitalKartik TalwarGeneral Partner at A.Capital VenturesWael NafeeGeneral Partner at RAED VenturesLeah MorrisExecutive Director, Encode: AI for Science at Pillar VCInshaal QadirAnalyst at Panache VenturesDominic BartonPartner at Radical Ventures
+ 79 more