Carol E. Reiley

Carol E. Reiley, an AI roboticist and Founder of TinkerBelle labs

Carol E. Reiley, an AI roboticist who is known as “The Mother of Robots.”

She holds a master's in computer science from The Johns Hopkins University and went on to co-found drive.ai, an autonomous vehicle startup. It raised more than $77 million, with the company reaching a valuation of $200 million, which was later acquired by Apple in 2019.

She also co-founded DeepMusic.ai in 2020 with Hilary Hahn, a three-time Emmy award winner violinist, offering a platform for musicians to create music using AI tools.

Her work focused on AI and robotics in surgery, space exploration, disaster rescue, and self-driving cars while working at companies like Lockheed Martin, GE, and Intuitive Surgical.

She is an advocate for making technical knowledge accessible to all; she:

- founded TinkerBelle Labs, which focuses on low-cost, DIY projects in robotics, healthcare, and environmental niches. An example is SEA-BPM, a DIY blood pressure monitoring system for developing countries.
- is the author and publisher of Making a Splash, a children’s book on growth mindset that sold more than 20,000 copies.

She also mentors Neo, an $80 million investment fund scouting top engineers globally. Neo has a diverse community, with 43% of its members being women and 15% being people of color. Notably, 40% of Neo's investments support startups led by female CEOs.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧:

- Forbes’ list of Top 50 Women in Tech in 2018
- Quartz’s list of Most Powerful Founders in 2018
- Inc. Magazine's list of Most Innovative Women Entrepreneurs in 2017
- Silicon Valley's Most Influential Women in 2016

She is currently working on a 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 in stealth —I’m excited to learn more about it when it comes out into the limelight.

𝐅𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭: She and her husband Andrew Ng, who is known for founding Coursera and DeepLearning.AI, were named a “power couple” by MIT Technology Review in 2016.