# Trisha Kothari

> Trisha Kothari is the co-founder and chairman of Unit21, a fraud and anti-money laundering software company. An early Affirm engineer who moved into product management, she co-founded Unit21 with Clarence Chio in 2018 to give risk and compliance operators more control over their tools. She and her siblings also funded a Waterloo computer science scholarship honoring their grandmothers.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Chairman of the Board at Unit21
- **Organizations:** Unit21, Affirm, South Park Commons, Google, LinkedIn
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Engineering; computer science and engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Exchange program, ETH Zurich, International Baccalaureate in Physics, Math and Economics, Dhirubhai Ambani International School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Unit21 and led it as CEO until April 2026., Helped build Affirm's early ledger and risk-related infrastructure., Unit21 secured Coinbase and Intuit as its first two customers.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2018** — Worked in engineering and product management at Affirm; helped build early ledger and risk systems.
- **2018** — Met Clarence Chio at South Park Commons and co-founded Unit21; first funding in December.
- **2019-07** — Launched Unit21.
- **2022** — Family scholarship at Waterloo launched; included in Inc.'s Female Founders list.
- **2026-04** — Transitioned from CEO to chairman; Tyler Allen became CEO.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Unit21 and led it as CEO until April 2026.
- Helped build Affirm's early ledger and risk-related infrastructure.
- Unit21 secured Coinbase and Intuit as its first two customers.
- Led sales through Unit21's first $1 million in revenue, with business development support.
- Named to Inc.'s 2022 Female Founders list.
- Helped establish the Barji and Gulab Scholarship for Women in Computer Science with her siblings.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Unit21 announced Tyler Allen as CEO on April 6; Kothari continued as chairman with responsibility for long-term vision and strategic relationships.
- **2025-07** — Appeared on Humans of Fintech to discuss Unit21, evolving financial fraud and AI.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trishakothari/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/theRealTrishaK

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/trisha-kothari
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11