# Nilay Oza

> Nilay Oza is a Finnish technology entrepreneur, Klevu co-founder and former CEO, Niro AI co-founder and CEO, and industrial advisor at Evli Growth Partners. His career spans software research at Finnish institutions, building ecommerce search technology used by thousands of stores, and the 2025 combination that brought Klevu into Athos Commerce.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Niro AI; Industrial Advisor at Evli Growth Partners
- **Organizations:** Niro AI, Niro Intelligence Ltd, Evli Growth Partners, Klevu (now Athos Commerce), University of Helsinki, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Helsinki University of Technology
- **Nationality:** Finnish
- **Education:** PhD; doctoral thesis on client-vendor relationships in software outsourcing, University of Hertfordshire, Artificial Intelligence professional education; exact credential unspecified, MIT Professional Education
- **Known for:** Co-founded Klevu in 2013 and led it as CEO through its independent growth period., Helped build ecommerce search technology used by several thousand stores worldwide., Led Klevu before its 2025 combination with Searchspring to form Athos Commerce.

## Career timeline

- **2005-2008** — Senior Researcher at Helsinki University of Technology, according to a public career profile.
- **2006** — Doctoral thesis recorded by the University of Hertfordshire: An empirical evaluation of client-vendor relationships in high maturity Indian software outsourcing companies.
- **2008-2012** — Senior Research Scientist at VTT; dates reported in a public career profile.
- **2012-2013** — Project Director at the University of Helsinki; also taught a 2012 course on global agile teams.
- **2013** — Co-founded Klevu with Niraj Aswani and Jyrki Kontio; became CEO.
- **2015** — Klevu announced its partnership with Vaimo; reported clients in 25 countries.
- **2021** — Discussed Klevu’s search and learning systems when the company served more than 3,000 brands.
- **2025** — Klevu combined with Searchspring to form Athos Commerce; his Klevu CEO tenure is publicly listed as ending in 2025.
- **2025** — Began industrial advisory work at Evli Growth Partners, according to his public career profile.
- **2026** — Public profiles identify him as Niro AI co-founder and CEO; appointed director of Niro Intelligence Ltd on 1 May 2026 alongside Niraj Aswani.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Klevu in 2013 and led it as CEO through its independent growth period.
- Helped build ecommerce search technology used by several thousand stores worldwide.
- Led Klevu before its 2025 combination with Searchspring to form Athos Commerce.
- Under investor Alfvén & Didrikson’s ownership, Klevu more than doubled recurring revenue and became profitable, according to the investor.
- Completed a University of Hertfordshire doctorate examining software outsourcing relationships.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Niro’s live website presents its current focus as AI tools for code review, codebase context and root-cause analysis; Oza is publicly listed as its co-founder and CEO.
- **2026-05** — Appointed a director of Niro Intelligence Ltd on 1 May, alongside Niraj Aswani.
- **2025-01** — Klevu investor Alfvén & Didrikson announced the combination with Searchspring to form Athos Commerce on 13 January.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilayoza/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/nilay-oza
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25