# Ali Amin-Javaheri

> Ali Amin-Javaheri is the co-founder and CEO of Knowde, the B2B digital marketplace and data platform transforming how the $5 trillion global chemicals industry does business online. With 11 years of experience at ChemPoint - where he helped scale the chemical distribution startup to over $400M in revenue - Ali built Knowde from a PowerPoint vision into a platform hosting 8,000+ supplier storefronts and 230,000+ chemical products. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Coatue, and Sound Ventures (Ashton Kutcher's fund), Knowde has raised $180.8M total, including a $60M Series C in August 2024. Ali's drive is deeply personal: his father Mehdi fled Iran in 1985 and struggled to find work commensurate with his chemical engineering degree, and Ali grew up reading chemistry trade magazines, determined to modernize an industry built on relationships and paper catalogs.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Knowde
- **Organizations:** Knowde, ChemPoint, AIChE
- **Nationality:** American (Iranian-American)
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in Information Systems, University of Washington, MBA, Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
- **Known for:** Built Knowde from a PowerPoint into a platform with 8,000+ supplier storefronts and 230,000+ chemical products, Raised $180.8M in total venture funding including a $60M Series C in August 2024, Secured Sequoia Capital as a backer in 2020

## Career timeline

- **~2006** — Joined ChemPoint, a chemical distribution startup, in an early employee role
- **2006-2017** — Rose to Vice President of Marketing & Sales at ChemPoint; helped company grow to $400M+ in annual revenue
- **2017** — Co-founded Knowde with Wojciech Krupa (technical co-founder, ex-LinkedIn marketplace builder) and Janakiraman Swamy (Chief Knowledge Officer)
- **2020** — Secured backing from Sequoia Capital; began scaling Knowde's digital marketplace
- **2021** — Raised $72M Series B led by Coatue
- **2023** — Knowde reached 2.9 million unique visitors, 100% year-over-year increase; 8,000+ supplier storefronts live
- **2024** — Raised $60M Series C led by Blue Cloud Ventures, Point72 Private Investments, and Socium Ventures; total funding reaches $180.8M
- **2025** — Delivered keynote at Knowde Executive Summit 2025; continued expansion of AI-powered chemical data platform

## Achievements

- Built Knowde from a PowerPoint into a platform with 8,000+ supplier storefronts and 230,000+ chemical products
- Raised $180.8M in total venture funding including a $60M Series C in August 2024
- Secured Sequoia Capital as a backer in 2020
- Grew Knowde to 2.9 million unique visitors in 2023 (100% YoY growth)
- Scaled ChemPoint to $400M+ in annual revenue as VP Marketing & Sales over 11 years
- Built partnerships with major consumer brands including Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and P&G
- Grew Knowde to 220+ employees
- Featured in Sequoia Capital's founder spotlight series

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Delivered keynote at Knowde Executive Summit 2025, outlining the company's vision for AI-driven chemical industry transformation
- **2024-08** — Raised $60M Series C from Blue Cloud Ventures, Point72 Private Investments, and Socium Ventures, bringing total funding to $180.8M
- **2023-12** — Knowde hit 2.9 million unique annual visitors, a 100% year-over-year increase, and expanded supplier storefronts to 8,000+

## Links

- Website: https://knowde.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-amin-javaheri-55045a13
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/aliajavaheri
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyGPQ_eMkTk
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/knowde2018/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ali-amin-javaheri
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-27