# Maria Fujihara

> Maria Carolina Fujihara is a Brazilian architect, urban planner and climate technology founder based in San Francisco. She co-founded SINAI, served as its CEO until 2024, and is now its board chair. Her work connects corporate emissions measurement with the financial analysis needed to plan reductions, drawing on earlier experience at Green Building Council Brasil and Project Drawdown.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & Board Chair at SINAI Carbon Management
- **Organizations:** SINAI Carbon Management, Green Building Council Brasil, Project Drawdown, Singularity University
- **Nationality:** Brazilian
- **Education:** Architecture and Urban Planning, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Master’s degree, Cities Management and Planning, University of São Paulo, Global Solutions Program and SU Ventures incubation program (non-degree), Singularity University, Winter 2020 accelerator (non-degree), Y Combinator
- **Known for:** Helped adapt sustainable building certification to Brazilian practice., Researched neighborhood-scale greenhouse gas accounting at the University of São Paulo., Built SINAI from its early prototypes into enterprise carbon management software serving industrial customers.

## Career timeline

- **2012-2016** — Technical coordinator at Green Building Council Brasil; worked on sustainable building certification.
- **2016** — Completed research on greenhouse gas accounting for Parque da Cidade in São Paulo.
- **2016-2017** — Advised Project Drawdown.
- **2017** — Participated in Singularity University; founded SINAI.
- **2018** — Received an O-1 visa after her parents offered to fund an application rather than a return flight.
- **2019** — Alain Rodriguez joined as co-founder and CTO, according to her 2020 CTVC interview.
- **2020** — SINAI joined Y Combinator’s Winter batch.
- **2021** — SINAI was selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and raised a $10 million seed round.
- **2022** — Led SINAI as CEO during its $22 million Series A led by Energize Ventures.
- **2024** — Announced the transition from CEO to founder and president on September 3; Jess Waldeck became CEO.
- **2025-present** — Co-founder and board chair; current title confirmed by SINAI’s leadership page, with the start year reported in professional profile records.

## Achievements

- Helped adapt sustainable building certification to Brazilian practice.
- Researched neighborhood-scale greenhouse gas accounting at the University of São Paulo.
- Built SINAI from its early prototypes into enterprise carbon management software serving industrial customers.
- Led SINAI when it joined Y Combinator Winter 2020 and was recognized as a 2021 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.
- Led SINAI through a $10 million seed round in 2021 and a $22 million Series A in 2022.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — SINAI’s current leadership page lists Fujihara as co-founder and board chair and Jess Waldeck as CEO; this is a verification date, not an appointment date.
- **2025-06** — Listed as a panelist for Mitsidi’s Women in Energy IV event in São Paulo on June 24.
- **2024-09** — Announced a transition from CEO to founder and president, with Jess Waldeck taking the CEO role.

## Links

- Website: https://www.mariafujihara.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariafujihara/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/mariafujihara

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/maria-fujihara
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-24