# Sachin Dev Duggal

> Sachin Dev Duggal is a British technology entrepreneur based in Dubai, founder of SeKondBrain and formerly CEO and Chief Wizard of Builder.ai. His career includes cloud-desktop company Nivio and photo app Shoto. Builder.ai attracted backing from Microsoft and Qatar Investment Authority, and Duggal won EY’s 2023 UK Entrepreneur Of The Year award; the company entered insolvency in May 2025 after he left the CEO role. He is now developing shared AI memory through Kemory.

- **Role:** Founder at SeKondBrain
- **Organizations:** SeKondBrain, Builder.ai (formerly Engineer.ai), Nivio, Shoto, SD Squared Labs, Deutsche Bank, Ultimate Tennis Showdown (board role listed in 2024)
- **From:** Edgware, London, United Kingdom
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, BEng, Information Systems, Imperial College London, Entrepreneurial Masters Program (executive programme), MIT and Entrepreneurs’ Organization
- **Known for:** EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 UK overall winner., World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer recognition in 2009, associated with Nivio., Built Nivio’s cloud-desktop service, offering remote Windows applications.

## Career timeline

- **Teenage years** — Built and sold PCs; describes repairing his mother’s computer as an early technical turning point.
- **2001-2006** — Worked at Deutsche Bank, overlapping with his Imperial education.
- **2004** — Founded cloud-desktop business Nivio while at university.
- **2009** — Recognised as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer while at Nivio.
- **2015** — Published his introduction to Shoto, describing its Yosemite-trip origin.
- **2016** — Builder.ai established as Engineer.ai.
- **2023** — Builder.ai announced a QIA-led Series D above $250 million, taking announced total funding above $450 million; Duggal won EY’s UK overall entrepreneur award.
- **2025-02** — Succeeded as Builder.ai CEO by Manpreet Ratia.
- **2025-03** — Resigned as director of Engineer.ai Global Limited on March 11.
- **2025-05** — Builder.ai announced insolvency proceedings on May 20.
- **2025-10** — Became director of the UK entity now named SeKondBrain AI Labs Limited on October 23.
- **2026-08** — Formally launched SeKondBrain and its first product, Kemory.

## Achievements

- EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 UK overall winner.
- World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer recognition in 2009, associated with Nivio.
- Built Nivio’s cloud-desktop service, offering remote Windows applications.
- Founded Builder.ai, which announced more than $450 million in cumulative funding by May 2023.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — SeKondBrain formally launched Kemory; an August 25 interview placed Duggal in Dubai.
- **2026-08** — Published Communication Is a Bug on his Substack on August 28.
- **2026-04** — India’s Enforcement Directorate announced a supplementary prosecution complaint naming Duggal in a Videocon-linked matter involving Nivio-related entities. These are allegations, not a conviction; his 2024 denial predates this complaint.
- **2026-02** — Appeared in a New Economies interview reflecting on Builder.ai and discussing his next venture.
- **2026-01** — An investor-commissioned review reported in January challenged circular-billing allegations concerning Builder.ai and VerSe.

## Links

- Website: https://sachmans.substack.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachin-dev-duggal-255406/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/sachinduggal

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sachin-dev-duggal
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22