# Jon Sobel

> Jon Sobel is the co-founder and CEO of Sight Machine, the industrial AI company he built from scratch in 2011 after a career spanning the law departments of Yahoo and Tesla and executive roles at CBS Digital and SourceForge. A Princeton and Wharton graduate who also holds a Michigan law degree, Sobel spent over a decade as one of Silicon Valley's most senior in-house lawyers before betting his career on a hunch: that factory floors, drowning in data they could not use, were the biggest missed opportunity in enterprise software. Sight Machine has since raised over $124M, operates in 20+ industries across 20+ countries, and in 2025 closed an equity investment from NVIDIA's venture arm — proving that a former general counsel with a journalism fellowship can, in fact, build a category-defining AI company.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Sight Machine
- **Organizations:** Sight Machine, Yahoo!, Tesla Motors, CBS Interactive, SourceForge, Calera, Folger Levin & Kahn, University of Michigan
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** A.B. in Public and International Affairs / Public Policy, Princeton University, Juris Doctor (J.D.), University of Michigan Law School, Master of Business Administration (MBA), University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School, Journalism Fellowship, Poynter Institute for Media Studies
- **Known for:** Co-founded Sight Machine in 2011 and grew it into the category leader for manufacturing analytics/industrial AI, Raised over $124M in total funding including equity investment from NVIDIA's NVentures, Built Sight Machine's platform to serve 20+ industries and 20+ countries

## Career timeline

- **early career** — Reporter at a daily newspaper in Michigan
- **early career** — Policy adviser in Washington D.C. to U.S. Senator John Danforth of Missouri
- **early career** — Attorney at Folger Levin & Kahn, San Francisco
- **early 1990s** — Worked at a graphics chip (semiconductor) company
- **1998** — Joined Yahoo! as senior attorney; rapidly rose to SVP, General Counsel, and board secretary; managed a legal team of 75+ attorneys
- **2006** — Left Yahoo! after approximately 6 years
- **2006-2008** — SVP, Strategy and Business Development at CBS Interactive (online video and mobile)
- **2008-2009** — Group President, Media at SourceForge / Slashdot; managed 30TB daily data and 2M software files
- **2009** — Joined Tesla Motors as General Counsel and Secretary (started late September 2009)
- **2010** — Chief Legal Officer at Calera (carbon capture / energy startup)
- **2011** — Co-founded Sight Machine in Michigan, initially focused on manufacturing analytics using machine vision and AI
- **2011-present** — CEO of Sight Machine; grew company to category leader in manufacturing AI, operating in 20+ countries
- **ongoing** — Adjunct professor at University of Michigan teaching innovation, entrepreneurial leadership, and complex problem solving
- **2023** — Sight Machine raised latest funding round (December 2023)
- **2025** — Sight Machine received equity investment from NVentures (NVIDIA's venture capital arm) and announced industrial AI agents

## Achievements

- Co-founded Sight Machine in 2011 and grew it into the category leader for manufacturing analytics/industrial AI
- Raised over $124M in total funding including equity investment from NVIDIA's NVentures
- Built Sight Machine's platform to serve 20+ industries and 20+ countries
- Led Yahoo!'s legal department to 75+ attorneys as SVP and General Counsel
- Served as General Counsel at Tesla during critical pre-IPO growth phase
- Sight Machine named finalist for 2025 Microsoft Manufacturing Partner of the Year
- Sight Machine reached approximately $21M in annual revenue with a lean 65-person team
- Authored article 'Manufacturers Struggle to Turn Data Into Insight' (2014) - prescient analysis of factory data opportunity
- Adjunct professor at University of Michigan teaching entrepreneurship and leadership

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Sight Machine previewing AI agent crew capabilities at Hannover Messe, with expanded availability planned for later in 2026
- **2025-09** — Sight Machine announced industrial AI agents, expanded Microsoft Fabric integration, and received equity investment from NVentures (NVIDIA's venture arm)
- **2025-06** — Sight Machine named finalist for 2025 Microsoft Manufacturing Partner of the Year Award
- **2024-04** — Jon Sobel featured at North American Manufacturing Excellence Summit (NAMES24) discussing digital transformation in manufacturing
- **2023-12** — Sight Machine raised latest funding round ($10M venture round, bringing total to $124M+)

## Links

- Website: https://sightmachine.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-sobel
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/sightmachine
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sight-Machine-124076604273563/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jon-sobel
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-12