Profile
The X-Ray That Changed Everything
Mini Suri's father was diagnosed with stage IV brain cancer after a problem was overlooked on an X-ray. That is where this story begins - not with a pivot deck or a market-size slide, but with a missed scan and a grief that turned into a question: what if the machine could catch what the human eye missed?
She brought that question to Silicon Valley with the kind of credentials that make investors listen. Two decades at Citi as Senior Vice President. A tour building intelligent automation at Uber during the run-up to its IPO. A stint as Chief Customer Officer at KORE.ai shepherding 100+ enterprise clients into conversational AI. And threaded through all of it, a steady accumulation of MIT credentials - a fintech certificate, a healthcare program, and finally the MBA from MIT Sloan in 2017 - each one sharpening a single edge: the belief that AI could make healthcare less forgiving of human error.
In 2021, she co-founded VELMENI with that belief as the founding thesis. The dental industry, she discovered, was a perfect proving ground. Pathologies hide in the noise of X-ray images. Experienced dentists, under time pressure, miss them about one in three times. Insurance claims get processed without the AI checks that could catch fraud. And the tools existed - computer vision, deep learning, NLP - but nobody had assembled them into a platform built specifically for the dental workflow.
From Finance to Fillings
The pivot looks less surprising when you trace the thread. At Citi, Mini was implementing AI in financial services long before it was a buzzword. At Uber, she ran the Center of Excellence for Intelligent Automation - the team tasked with finding where machines could make the company faster. At KORE.ai, she saw first-hand how enterprises adopt conversational AI at scale. By the time she co-founded VELMENI, she had seen what AI adoption looks like from the inside of three very different industries. Dental was next.
She landed in Sunnyvale, California - deep in Silicon Valley - and started building. The early days included an important alliance: UCF's Computer Vision lab, whose researchers she credits as instrumental in developing the underlying AI engine. President Dr. Alex Cartwright and Engineering Dean Michael Georgiopoulos at UCF gave VELMENI technical firepower it would have taken years to build alone.
What VELMENI Actually Does
VELMENI is FDA-cleared to analyze panoramic, bitewing, and periapical X-rays - the three main 2D radiograph types used in dental practice. Its AI annotates scans in real time, flagging pathologies and providing smart treatment recommendations before the dentist ever lifts a probe. The platform is not a replacement for clinical judgment. It is a second opinion that does not get tired, does not have bias toward a recent case, and does not miss because the next patient is waiting.
In 2025, VELMENI expanded into 3D. Its new 3D Verify product addresses a staggering inefficiency: approximately 60% of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans contain positioning or quality errors. 3D Verify validates scans in real time - before the patient leaves the chair - eliminating costly repeats and diagnostic gaps. Alongside it came VELMENI EasyRiter, a web-based tool for CBCT interpretation and anatomical report generation, and the expanded VELMENI for Dentists platform covering 2D analysis across practices and DSOs.
The business model is B2B - dental practices, dental service organizations (DSOs), insurance companies, and healthcare systems are all in the customer mix. Insurance claim validation is a particular area of focus: AI can cross-check claim submissions against actual radiograph data, reducing fraud and improving processing speed. This is not a small problem. Dental insurance fraud and errors cost the industry billions annually.
Career Arc
Twenty Years, One Destination
1990
Graduated from College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG) with a degree in Computer Science & Engineering - one of India's oldest engineering institutions.
1990 - 2018
Rose to Senior Vice President at Citi over 20+ years, pioneering AI and automation implementations in global financial services.
2015 - 2017
Earned an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, plus certificates in fintech and healthcare from MIT - all while working full-time.
2018 - 2019
Joined Uber as Head of the Center of Excellence for Intelligent Automation. Witnessed the company's historic IPO from the inside.
2019 - 2021
Chief Customer Success Officer at KORE.ai. Led 100+ enterprise clients through conversational AI adoption at scale.
2020
Joined TiE Silicon Valley as Board Member - fostering tech entrepreneurship, STEM for girls, and women's leadership.
2021
Co-founded VELMENI in Sunnyvale, California. The company secured venture funding in 2022.
2022 - 2024
Scaled VELMENI to 500+ dental offices across 50+ countries. Achieved FDA clearance for 2D dental radiograph AI analysis.
2025
Launched 3D Verify, VELMENI EasyRiter, and expanded VELMENI for Dentists at Chicago MidWinter Dental Meeting. Presented at RSNA Global AI Panel.
The Platform
VELMENI's AI Arsenal
Three products, one mission: make every dental X-ray count.
VELMENI for Dentists
FDA-cleared AI analysis of panoramic, bitewing, and periapical 2D X-rays. Flags pathologies and generates smart treatment recommendations in real time.
3D Verify
Real-time validation of CBCT (cone beam CT) scans. Catches the ~60% of 3D scans that contain positioning or quality errors before the patient leaves.
VELMENI EasyRiter
Web-based decision support for CBCT interpretation. Generates anatomical reports automatically, reducing radiologist bottlenecks.
In Her Own Words
The Mini Suri Quotebook
My father was diagnosed with stage IV brain cancer months after the problem was missed on an X-ray scan.
I'm most proud of launching VELMENI as a woman CEO.
Keep marching forward. Trust yourself. Find good mentors. There will always be obstacles and unreasonable people.
Our goal is to be that unicorn company that delivers affordable, high-quality dental care to a BILLION people around the world.
Never eat alone.
With 3D Verify, dentists no longer have to second-guess their CBCT images or deal with inefficiencies of incorrect scans.
Watch & Listen
Mini Suri On Camera
Putting Patients First
AI for early detection and better dental health - Mini Suri's TEDx-style talk on VELMENI's mission.
The Future of AI & Healthcare
Mini Suri in the Stories in AI series - the intersection of machine learning, diagnostics, and patient outcomes.
Mini Suri Speaks to India Abroad
VELMENI CEO discusses her venture, the founding story, and the road to FDA clearance.
Fast Facts
Things Worth Knowing
Mini graduated from College of Engineering, Guindy in 1990 - the same year Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web.
VELMENI's AI catches dental pathologies that experienced dentists miss approximately 1 in 3 times during standard review.
About 60% of all 3D dental CBCT scans contain positioning or quality errors - the problem 3D Verify was built to solve.
She spent 20+ years at Citi before pivoting - financial services to dental AI is one of the more unusual founder origin stories in Silicon Valley.
Mini built intelligent automation at Uber and saw the company's IPO from the inside before founding her own startup.
She is a member of CHIEF, the exclusive network for senior women executives, and a Board Member at TiE Silicon Valley since 2020.