# Manish Gurukula

> Manish Gurukula is the CEO and co-founder of Alacriti, a payments technology company founded in 2003 with Sai Raavi. An IIT Chennai graduate and former software engineer who worked on Western Union money-transfer modernization, he helped build payment systems for early customer HSBC before leading Alacriti’s growth in bill payments and payment infrastructure. He plays tennis and has publicly linked the game to his approach to decision-making and adaptability.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-founder at Alacriti
- **Organizations:** Alacriti, Western Union
- **Education:** Undergraduate degree; field not specified in the official biography, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (Chennai)
- **Known for:** Co-founded Alacriti in 2003 and remains CEO., Helped design and deliver major payment systems for HSBC, including global account transfers and bill payments., Led Alacriti to a May 2026 growth investment led by Sageview Capital.

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Moved to the United States in December, as recalled in his 2025 Oliver Wyman interview.
- **Before 2003** — Worked in financial services and on Western Union money-transfer technology modernization; exact employment dates not verified.
- **2003** — Co-founded Alacriti with Sai Raavi; the firm initially built custom payments software for banks.
- **Early Alacriti years** — HSBC became the first anchor customer. Projects included global account transfers, wire modernization, and enterprise bill payments.
- **2007** — Wayne Brown recalls an early October recruitment discussion with Gurukula at the Edison Diner, when Alacriti had one bank client.
- **2017** — Alacriti introduced the Ella conversational payment bot, later renamed AI chatbot.
- **2019** — Alacriti added Digital Disbursements to Orbipay.
- **2020** — Alacriti joined the U.S. Faster Payments Council in July; Gurukula also published a June statement affirming inclusion.
- **2023** — Delivered a July 20 video message marking the FedNow Service launch and congratulating early live-transaction customers.
- **2025** — Interviewed by Hiten Patel and Cosimo Schiavone for Oliver Wyman’s Innovators’ Exchange; recorded in May and published July 11.
- **2026** — Announced growth equity led by Sageview Capital, with BMO Capital Partners and Curql Fund, on May 20.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Alacriti in 2003 and remains CEO.
- Helped design and deliver major payment systems for HSBC, including global account transfers and bill payments.
- Led Alacriti to a May 2026 growth investment led by Sageview Capital.
- Alacriti reported more than 96 million annual transactions, more than $233 billion annual payment value, and 98% customer retention in its May 2026 announcement. These are company metrics, not personal financial figures.
- Alacriti announced a top-150 Financial Services placement on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list on August 12, 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Alacriti’s October 6 announcement listed Gurukula and BitGo’s Frank Wang for an October 14 discussion on incorporating stablecoins alongside existing payment rails. The announcement establishes the planned event, not attendance or completed outcomes.
- **2026-09** — Alacriti published A CEO’s Guide to Preparing for Stablecoins, based on Gurukula’s conversation with American Banker’s Janet King.
- **2026-08** — Alacriti announced a top-150 Financial Services category position in the 2026 Inc. 5000.
- **2026-05** — Announced growth equity led by Sageview Capital with BMO Capital Partners and Curql Fund participating.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manish-gurukula-9343a91

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/manish-gurukula
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-20