Neurala Company Overview

Max is the co-founder and CEO of Neurala Inc., and the company visionary. After his pioneering research in brain-inspired computing and deep networks, he continues to inspire and lead the world of autonomous robotics. He has spoken at dozens of events and venues, including TedX, NASA, the Pentagon, Los Alamos National Labs, Air Force Research Labs, HP, iRobot, Samsung, LG, Qualcomm, Ericsson, BAE Systems, Mitsubishi, ABB and Accenture, among others. His work was featured in IEEE Spectrum, New Scientist, Fortune, Tech Crunch, Venture Beat, Geek Magazine, CNN, MSNBC and many other media. Max is a Fulbright scholar, has authored dozens of academic publications, holds several patents and two Ph.Ds: Experimental Psychology, University of Trieste, Italy; Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University, USA.

Heather is Neurala’s co-founder and COO, and brings to the team her diverse executive skills ranging from oversight of multi-million dollar applied research initiatives, strategic planning, product management, and leading translation of research into commercial products. Heather enjoys finding ways in which artificial intelligence can be used to enhance consumer interactions with robots. Previously, Heather has served as the Executive Director and Co-PI of the NSF-sponsored CELEST Science of Learning Center at Boston University. Heather holds a PhD in Cognitive and Neural Systems from Boston University and a BS in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of California at Berkeley.

Anatoly, Neurala’s co-founder and CTO, has over 15 years of experience in the development of massively parallel software for neural computation, and was one of the pioneers in applying GPGPU to neural modeling. In Neurala, he manages the tech team and oversees the technology’s development. Anatoly has a PhD in Cognitive and Neural Systems from Boston University and an MS in Computer Science. As an Assistant Professor at Boston University, Anatoly introduced over 70 students to computational modeling of the brain and guided several of them through their PhD programs. He has over 30 scientific publications to his name on topics including neural modeling of rodent spatial processing and navigation, massively parallel software for modeling neural activity, and perspectives and mechanisms of standardization of these models and underlying software.

Dan brings over 25 years of financial and operations experience to Neurala. His career includes diverse public and private company experience, from Fortune 500 to venture-backed start-ups, and Big Four public accounting. He is experienced in complex mergers and acquisitions, has managed debt and equity raises totaling over $150 million, and driven process and operational improvements and infrastructure build out.

He was previously CFO at Vitrue (acquired by Oracle in 2012 for $320M), Kova Solutions (acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 2013) and SiteAdvisor (acquired by McAfee in 2006). He holds a BS, with honors, from Boston College and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Steve is an international sales and marketing executive with 20 years’ experience. He joined Neurala from Building Engines, a leading SaaS provider of real estate operations and tenant engagement solutions where, as VP Sales, he scaled revenues which culminated in a growth equity investment of $26.5 million. Steve was Co-CEO at datango AG (sold to SAP), managing international expansion, channel development, consulting services and direct sales. His career includes leadership roles at Enlight AB (sold to datango AG), x.hlp AS (sold to Enlight AB), Fast Search & Transfer AS (sold to Microsoft), and RM plc. Steve’s an avid golfer, aging soccer player and awful skier. He spends most of his time with his wife, two sons and two dogs – all of which contribute to his gray hair.

Sue is an accomplished marketing executive who has spent the last several years developing innovative GTM strategies for industrial automation in the manufacturing sector, applying leading-edge marketing initiatives to a target market adapting to change. Her experience ranges from start-up to enterprise-sized organizations. Sue was VP of Marketing at Rethink Robotics, a category creating robotics company, and part of the Sr. Management team at Constant Contact, an early SasS email marketing company, that orchestrated a successful IPO. Her career includes diverse experience in software, hardware and services, primarily in ground-breaking technologies. Sue can prepare 50 different lobster-based dishes, and is authoring her second cookbook.

Hannah Murray is a marketing and PR expert with both agency and corporate experience. She has worked with dozens of high tech B2B companies, healthcare organizations, and small businesses to launch products, acquire and announce funding, and develop integrated marketing and PR strategies. Hannah focuses on AI, adtech, and robotics, and her work has been featured in Forbes, Adweek, and Entrepreneur. Hannah spent five months living in France taking wine and cooking classes and is fluent in French. 

Daniel Glasser has over 15 years of experience delivering innovative technology solutions for Fortune 100 companies, government agencies and startups. Daniel specializes in AI-based solutions in a number of industries, including industrial drone inspections, automotive, logistics, and smart devices, and holds an MBA from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. Daniel is an avid cyclist and rides over 1800 miles per year commuting to and from work.

Vesa leads the talented engineering team. Before Neurala, he started out as a software engineer, and began managing products, product line organizations, and engineering teams at Nokia in Finland, USA, and India. After Nokia, he led engineering teams at Fiksu, an ad tech company. With roots in software engineering, Vesa has been managing products and engineering teams for 15 + years in a variety of continents. He holds a Master of Science in Computer Science from Helsinki University of Technology, and an MBA from Aalto University, both in Finland. Outside neural networks, he enjoys working out, and geeking out about Formula One.