# Swapnil Shinde

> Swapnil Shinde is the CEO and Co-founder of Zeni, an AI-powered finance operations platform for startups headquartered in Palo Alto. A serial entrepreneur with three company launches and two successful exits - Dhingana (acquired by Rdio) and Mezi (acquired by American Express for ~$150M) - he co-founds every venture with his identical twin brother Snehal. At Zeni, Swapnil leads marketing, sales, and operations while Snehal owns product and tech. The company manages over $1 billion in startup finances monthly, has raised $49.5M in funding, and serves hundreds of venture-backed startups with real-time AI-driven bookkeeping, accounting, and CFO services.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-founder at Zeni
- **Organizations:** Zeni, Twin Ventures, Young Entrepreneurs Council
- **From:** India
- **Nationality:** Indian-American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Engineering, Computer Engineering, College of Engineering Pune, Master of Science, Computer Science, University of Southern California
- **Known for:** Three company co-launches with two successful exits totaling ~$150M+, Grew Dhingana to 10 million monthly listeners in 100+ countries organically, Led Mezi acquisition by American Express for approximately $150 million

## Career timeline

- **Early 2000s** — Software Engineer at IBM Software Labs, Pune
- **Mid 2000s** — Senior roles at Symantec (Norton Antivirus) for ~3 years
- **Mid 2000s** — Product leadership at Yahoo, led web performance optimization for 100M+ users
- **2007** — Co-founded Dhingana, a Bollywood music streaming platform, with twin brother Snehal
- **2014** — Dhingana acquired by Rdio; Swapnil joined Rdio as VP of Product for international markets
- **2014** — Co-founded Mezi, an AI-powered travel concierge for business travelers
- **2018** — Mezi acquired by American Express for approximately $150 million
- **2018** — Co-founded Twin Ventures, an AI-focused angel investment fund with Snehal
- **2019** — Co-founded Zeni, an AI-powered finance operations platform for startups
- **2021-03** — Zeni raised $13.5M Series A led by Saama Capital
- **2021-08** — Zeni raised $34M Series B led by Elevation Capital; 550% YoY revenue growth reported
- **2024** — Zeni managing $1B+ in startup finances monthly across 400+ customers

## Achievements

- Three company co-launches with two successful exits totaling ~$150M+
- Grew Dhingana to 10 million monthly listeners in 100+ countries organically
- Led Mezi acquisition by American Express for approximately $150 million
- Built Zeni to managing $1B+ in monthly startup finances
- Raised $49.5M in total funding for Zeni
- Achieved 550% year-over-year revenue growth at Zeni before Series B
- Angel investor and advisor in 40+ early-stage startups through Twin Ventures
- Member of Young Entrepreneurs Council (YEC)

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Featured on Category Visionaries podcast: '$47+ Million Raised to Build the Finance Operations Category'
- **2024-12** — Interview with John Furrier: 'AI for CFOs & AI Leaders in Silicon Valley'
- **2024-01** — Zeni managing $1B+ in startup finances monthly across ~400 customers

## Links

- Website: https://zeni.ai
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/swapnilshinde
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/swapnil_shinde
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swapnil/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ZeniAIHQ/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/swapnil-shinde
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-22