Rana el Kaliouby, Emotion AI Pioneer

Today’s guest is Rana el Kaliouby a pioneer in Emotion AI and, before I go any further, I wanted to say that this is one of the most honest, and authentic interviews I have ever conducted with a startup founder.

Rana is co-founder and CEO of Affectiva - a software company that builds artificial intelligence that understands human emotions, and cognitive states and activities by analyzing facial and vocal expressions. The company was spun out of the MIT Media Lab with Rana and Professor Rosalind Picard as co-founders.

A self-described nerd at heart who felt like a misfit growing up, Egyptian-born Rana also authored Girl Decoded: A Scientist’s Quest to Reclaim Our Humanity by Bringing Emotional Intelligence to Technology. As I touch on in the interview, this book is very much Rana’s inspiring life story - from her middle-eastern upbringing to her startup journey, why it’s critical for your company to have core values and the toll her chosen path took on her personal life.

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Danielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham

Rana el Kaliouby on Twitter @kaliouby and Instagram @ranaelkaliouby 
Affectiva website 

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This episode was hosted by me - Danielle Newnham, a recovering founder, author and writer who has been interviewing tech founders and innovators for ten years - and produced by Jolin Cheng.