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Prof. Shonali Krishnaswamy
Director of Monash AI Institute
Monash University
Prof Shonali Krishnaswamy is the Director of the Monash AI Institute and the Associate Dean Innovation in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University. Prior to this Shonali, was the CTO and Co-Founder of AiDA Technologies (www.aidatech.io), a multi-award winning Machine Learning (ML) start-up from Singapore, delivering AI-based Claims Processing technologies for Health Insurers in Singapore and the ASEAN region. AiDA was acquired by AIA.
AiDA's marquee product SMART-CLAIMS is an AI-based solution for automating the processing of Health Insurance Claims and detecting/preventing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse. SMART-CLAIMS has been adopted by several major insurers in Singapore and increasingly in the ASEAN region.
Before starting her entrepreneurial journey, Shonali was Head of the Data Analytics Department at the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), which is part of the Singapore Government's national R&D arm, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). As Head of Data Analytics at I2R, Shonali led a research team of 70 Data Science researchers and engineers and focused on R&D innovation labs and collaboration projects across multiple industry sectors including Financial Services, Telecommunications, Healthcare and Aerospace. She has also previously held academic/professorial appointments in Australia at Monash University and Swinburne University.
Shonali is the recipient of several national and international awards including an ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship, Monash University Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research by an Early Career Researcher, the Institute of Engineers Singapore Prestigious Engineering Award, the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Award, and an IBM Innovation Award. In 2020, Shonali was recognised as one of Singapore's Inaugural 100 Women in Technology by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Singapore Computer Society (SCS). More recently, in March 2024, Shonali was recognised as one of Asia's Top 50 Women Technology Leaders.
LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/shonali-krishnaswamy-b532204
Speaking at SFF 2026
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4:10–4:20pmThu 19 NovFounders StageHall 2, Singapore EXPOPremium
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4:30–4:55pmFri 20 NovCatalyst StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpen
Technology Rewiring
AI Scientist Entrepreneurs: From AI Research & Innovation to Entrepreneurship
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Abhijeet NarangCo-founder & AI ResearcherTracReal
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Prof. Shonali KrishnaswamyDirector of Monash AI InstituteMonash University
About this session
History shows how breakthrough scientific discoveries can reshape the world. From Edgar F. Codd’s relational databases and Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web to Mark Weiser’s vision of ubiquitous computing, pioneering technology research has transformed industries, economies and everyday life. Today, Artificial Intelligence presents a similarly transformative opportunity. A new generation of scientist-entrepreneurs in AI has the potential to translate frontier research into breakthrough technologies, products and ventures that redefine industries and address humanity’s greatest challenges. Their journey is not simply about commercialising discoveries, but about turning bold scientific ideas (developed through years of research) into innovations driving deep tech enterprises. The challenge is to create a sustainable pathway for academic innovations and scientist entrepreneurs to cross the bridge from science to enterprise seamlessly.
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