# Aneesh Dhawan

> Aneesh Dhawan is the co-founder and CEO of Knit, an AI-native consumer research business pairing researchers with AI to help enterprise brands turn consumer feedback into decisions. He previously founded the cause-marketing agency Feed A Friend and led PurPics, a student creator platform connecting brands with charitable fundraising. His public work focuses on consumer understanding, research storytelling, and preserving human judgment as AI takes on more research tasks.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Knit
- **Organizations:** Knit, PurPics, Feed A Friend
- **Education:** Studied economics with an entrepreneurship minor; took leave in January 2019, University of Virginia, Norfolk Academy
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Knit; the company reported serving more than 60 enterprise brands in its July 2025 Series A announcement., Knit announced a $16.1 million Series A in July 2025., PurPics received the 2019 Kathryne Carr Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, a $25,000 prize.

## Career timeline

- **Age 16** — Launched Feed A Friend, a cause-marketing agency.
- **2017** — PurPics launched as a student business with Victor Layne; the venture developed from Dhawan’s high-school work.
- **2019** — Took leave from UVA in January and moved to Austin to build PurPics full time; participated in Techstars Farm to Fork.
- **2019** — PurPics received the Kathryne Carr Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence.
- **2021** — PurPics was publicly reported as rebranding to Knit and shifting toward consumer insights.
- **2024** — Announced a $9 million funding round and Report-Ready Insights.
- **2025** — Knit announced a $16.1 million Series A on July 31, led by GFT Ventures and Sound Ventures.
- **2026** — Discussed the AI trust gap in enterprise research with Mike Linton on CMO Confidential in September.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Knit; the company reported serving more than 60 enterprise brands in its July 2025 Series A announcement.
- Knit announced a $16.1 million Series A in July 2025.
- PurPics received the 2019 Kathryne Carr Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, a $25,000 prize.
- Named a finalist for Greenbook’s 2025 Future List.
- Participated in the 2019 Techstars Farm to Fork accelerator.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Appeared on CMO Confidential to discuss Knit’s AI Trust Survey of 150+ enterprise research leaders and the need for expert judgment in AI-assisted research.
- **2025-11** — Published a Greenbook essay arguing that empathy and human judgment should guide research automation.
- **2025-07** — Knit announced its $16.1 million Series A, alongside company-reported fivefold year-over-year growth.

## Links

- Website: https://goknit.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aneesh-dhawan-140212141
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/aneeshdaone

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/aneesh-dhawan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26