When she worked for Apple, Ramadurgam's job was to block anyone on terrorism watch lists from using Apple Pay. Even at one of the most sophisticated technology companies on the planet, she was shocked that the compliance process--making sure the company was obeying financial laws and regulations--was still analog and tedious. "It meant reading through not just hundreds, but thousands of pages of documentation," she says. "Organizations were just throwing bodies at the problem."
In 2023, Ramadurgam founded Kobalt Labs with former Affirm software engineer Ashi Agrawal to bring compliance into the machine-learning age. Kobalt's AI models sort through mountains of documents to help banks vet their business partners, ensuring they're following the rules, like halting money transfers from sanctioned countries and promptly disclosing security breaches. Her startup has raised $13 million and has more than 20 customers, including fast-growing fintech company Bilt and Celtic Bank.
Kalyani Ramadurgam wears a cashmere shirt by Guest in Residence 