# Iba Masood

> Iba Masood is a Pakistani entrepreneur based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She co-founded graduate recruitment platform Gradberry and engineering software company Tara AI with Syed Ahmed, and now serves as co-founder and CEO of Optimal AI, maker of the Optibot code review agent. Her recognitions include the 2012 Cartier Women’s Initiative regional award and the Forbes 30 Under 30 Enterprise Technology list for 2018.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Optimal AI
- **Organizations:** Optimal AI, Tara AI, Gradberry, Y Combinator, GE, McKinsey & Company
- **Nationality:** Pakistani
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance; minor in Marketing, American University of Sharjah, Fellowship in International Leadership and Civic Engagement, University of Pittsburgh, Hesselbein Global Academy
- **Known for:** 2012 Cartier Women’s Initiative laureate for the Middle East and North Africa., Y Combinator Winter 2015 alumna., Forbes 30 Under 30 Enterprise Technology, 2018.

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Graduated from the American University of Sharjah with a finance degree.
- **2011** — Co-founded Gradberry with Syed Ahmed in Dubai.
- **2012** — Won the Cartier Women’s Initiative award for the Middle East and North Africa.
- **2015** — Participated in Y Combinator’s winter batch with Gradberry.
- **2016** — Gradberry evolved into Tara, focused on developer matching and project delivery.
- **2017** — Tara won investment through the 43North competition.
- **2018** — Recognised with Syed Ahmed on Forbes 30 Under 30 in Enterprise Technology.
- **2019** — Tara announced a $10 million Series A led by Aspect Ventures.
- **2025** — Announced Optimal AI and its $2.25 million pre-seed round, co-led by Act One Ventures and Chingona Ventures.

## Achievements

- 2012 Cartier Women’s Initiative laureate for the Middle East and North Africa.
- Y Combinator Winter 2015 alumna.
- Forbes 30 Under 30 Enterprise Technology, 2018.
- Co-founded Tara AI, which announced a $10 million Series A in July 2019.
- Co-founded Optimal AI, which announced $2.25 million in pre-seed funding in 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2025-02** — Announced Optimal AI’s $2.25 million pre-seed round and Optibot private beta in a public LinkedIn post.
- **2026-10** — At the research date, her public LinkedIn identifies Optimal AI as her company; its website offers Optibot code reviews and engineering workflow agents. This is an observation date, not an announcement date.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ibamasood/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/IbaMasood
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/iba.masood

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/iba-masood
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23