Amir Husain is a serial entrepreneur, veteran AI technologist, and author based in Austin, Texas. He has received widespread acclaim for his pioneering work, including Austin’s Top Entrepreneur award and inclusion in Austin’s 40 Under 40. His ventures have been lauded with CNBC’s fastest growing company awards and numerous other international recognitions. In 2013, Amir founded Spark Cognition, now Avathon. Under Amir’s leadership, the company achieved a unicorn valuation, marking a significant milestone in its journey. As the Founder and Executive Board Member of this award-winning AI company, Amir led the firm as CEO from its inception until the end of 2023.Besides his contributions to Spark Cognition, he also holds board positions at SpecFive, a mesh networking company, and Navigate, a decentralized data platform. Amir founded the defense technology company SGS, chaired by former Deputy Secretary of Defense, Robert Work, and served as Founder, CEO, and Board Director of SkyGrid, a joint venture with Boeing. An avid inventor, Amir has been awarded over 30 patents in AI and distributed systems. He serves on UT Austin’s Computer Science Board, NATO’s Innovation Advisory Board and the Board of Global Venture Bridge, fostering international entrepreneurial collaboration. His work has been featured in world-leading publications such as the BBC, Fortune, Forbes, and Proceedings from the U.S. Naval Institute. He is the author of the best-selling book “The Sentient Machine,” and a co-author of “Hyperwar: Conflict and Competition in the AI Century."