Rana el Kaliouby
Co-Founder and General Partner of Blue Tulip Ventures, Former Deputy CEO of Smart Eye, Co-Founder of Affectiva, and Author
Book Rana NowIndustries:
Best for:
- Emotion AI, computer vision, and AI ethics audiences
- Automotive and media/entertainment technology conferences
- Women in leadership and diversity & inclusion audiences
- Entrepreneurship and technology leadership audiences
Rana el Kaliouby
Co-Founder and General Partner of Blue Tulip Ventures, Former Deputy CEO of Smart Eye, Co-Founder of Affectiva, and Author
Speaker Videos & Media
Available Speaking Programs
The Ethics Behind Smarter AI
The Future of Emotional AI
About Rana el Kaliouby
Rana el Kaliouby is a distinguished figure in the realm of emotion AI, renowned for her groundbreaking work in bringing emotional intelligence to technology. Born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, she embarked on an academic journey that led her to earn her bachelor's and master's degrees from the American University in Cairo and a Ph.D. from Newnham College, Cambridge.
Rana's career began with a pivotal role at the MIT Media Lab's Affective Computing group where she was integral to the team that developed the innovative "emotional hearing aid," a pioneering set of emotion-reading wearable glasses. This invention gained recognition as one of the New York Times' Top 100 Innovations of 2006.
Her vision for humanizing technology led her to co-found Affectiva, a spin-off from the MIT Media Lab. As the CEO of Affectiva, Rana has been at the forefront of leveraging facial and vocal recognition software to bridge the gap between humans and machines. Under her leadership, Affectiva has grown its facial emotion repository to nearly 6 million faces analyzed across 75 countries.
Beyond her role in Affectiva, Rana has made her mark as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She has also co-hosted the PBS NOVA Wonders series, further demonstrating her ability to make complex technological concepts accessible to a wider audience.
Rana's journey and insights into the world of AI and emotion recognition are eloquently captured in her memoir, "Girl Decoded." Additionally, she has contributed a chapter to "Architects of Intelligence: The Truth About AI from the People Building It" by Martin Ford, solidifying her position as a thought leader in the AI community.
Areas of Expertise
Testimonials
"Rana el Kaliouby’s journey to overcome self-doubt and embrace her ambition will resonate with women everywhere. Girl Decoded is the kind of honest and inspiring story that will encourage other women to share their experiences and own their power."
Founder and Executive Chairman, Tory Burch, LLC
"Rana el Kaliouby is one of the most brilliant and inspiring people I’ve ever met, but I wasn’t prepared for how this book would move me. The reader joins Rana on an uplifting journey from nice, shy Egyptian girl to scientist, entrepreneur and visionary American leader. We also witness the birth of an idea—that machines can be trained to recognize and respond to human emotion. Rana expresses her vision with clarity and hope, and leaves us believing that Emotion AI will shape the intelligent machines of the future into a force for good.."
CEO, Fast Company & Inc
Book Rana el Kaliouby for Your Next Event
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Frequently Asked Questions About Booking Rana el Kaliouby
What is Rana el Kaliouby best known for?
Rana el Kaliouby is best known for pioneering emotion AI, having co-founded Affectiva, a company that uses facial and vocal recognition to read human emotion, growing its facial emotion repository to nearly 6 million faces analyzed across 75 countries. Her work began at the MIT Media Lab, where she helped develop the "emotional hearing aid," named one of the New York Times' Top 100 Innovations of 2006.
Is Rana el Kaliouby a good fit for women's leadership or diversity-focused audiences?
Yes. Her memoir "Girl Decoded" chronicles her journey from Cairo, Egypt to becoming a scientist and entrepreneur, and past reviewers have noted it resonates with women navigating ambition and self-doubt in their careers.
What makes Rana el Kaliouby different from other AI speakers?
El Kaliouby's work centers specifically on emotion AI and humanizing technology, an area she helped establish through her research at the MIT Media Lab and her company Affectiva, giving her a distinct focus compared to speakers covering AI more broadly.
What is Rana el Kaliouby's speaking fee?
Rana el Kaliouby's speaking fee is available upon request and depends on the event's location, date, format (in-person or virtual), and specific requirements. Contact Speak About AI for an exact quote for your event.
What topics does Rana el Kaliouby speak about?
Rana el Kaliouby speaks about Emotion AI, Computer Vision, AI Ethics, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Leadership. Each keynote is customized to the audience and event.
Is Rana el Kaliouby available for virtual events?
Yes. Rana el Kaliouby is available for in-person keynotes as well as virtual presentations and webinars for distributed audiences.
Where is Rana el Kaliouby based, and does Rana travel for events?
Rana el Kaliouby is based in Massachusetts, United States and is available for speaking engagements worldwide.
How do I book Rana el Kaliouby for my event?
Rana el Kaliouby is booked through Speak About AI, the AI-exclusive keynote speaker bureau. Share your event date, location, audience, and budget via the contact form, and the team will confirm Rana's availability, provide exact pricing, and handle the contracting end to end.
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