# Nitin Rai

> Nitin Rai founded First Insight Corporation in 1994 and is its Founder and Chairman; September 2026 company material also identifies him as President and CEO. He founded Elevate Capital in 2016, investing in underrepresented entrepreneurs and pairing capital with mentoring. His career spans software engineering, company building, angel investing and leadership at TiE Oregon and TiE Global.

- **Role:** Founder and Chairman at First Insight Corporation; Founder and Managing Partner at Elevate Capital
- **Organizations:** First Insight Corporation, Elevate Capital, TiE Oregon, TiE Oregon Foundation, TiE Global, Mentor Graphics
- **Education:** BSc, Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
- **Known for:** Built First Insight Corporation, founded in 1994, and bought back its investors’ shares in 2010., Founded Elevate Capital in 2016 to invest in underrepresented and underserved entrepreneurs., Led TiE Oregon as president for 2012-2023.

## Career timeline

- **1984** — Wrote his first Pascal program in a computer programming class at Dalhousie University, according to his Elevate launch essay.
- **1987** — Worked in artificial intelligence in Silicon Valley, according to his Investor Connect interview.
- **1992** — A Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference biography identified him as a Mentor Graphics project leader working on GUI Builder and AMPLE debugger projects.
- **1994** — Founded First Insight Corporation.
- **2007** — Became a founding charter and board member of TiE Oregon.
- **2010** — Bought back First Insight investors’ shares, according to his Crunchbase biography.
- **2012-2023** — Served as President of TiE Oregon.
- **2016** — Launched Elevate Capital.
- **2018** — TiE Oregon identified him as Chairman of TiE Global’s Board of Trustees and Chair of TiE Global Angels.
- **2018-2023** — Served as President of TiE Oregon Foundation.
- **2026** — First Insight launched The Focal Point podcast, hosted by Rai.

## Achievements

- Built First Insight Corporation, founded in 1994, and bought back its investors’ shares in 2010.
- Founded Elevate Capital in 2016 to invest in underrepresented and underserved entrepreneurs.
- Led TiE Oregon as president for 2012-2023.
- Elevate Capital’s 2025 review reported 92 startup investments, $60 million in assets under management and more than 1,200 jobs helped create; these are firm-reported figures.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — First Insight announced The Focal Point, a monthly podcast hosted by Rai, on September 17.
- **2026-06** — Appeared in an AI Innovators interview with Rehan Ahmed, published June 23.
- **2026-05** — A May 27 article covered his ASCRS 2026 presentation.

## Links

- Website: https://elevate.vc/team/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitinrai1/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/NitinrRai

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/nitin-rai
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27