# Ulf Sandberg

> Ulf Sandberg is a Swedish-educated technology executive and repeat founder whose career connects three generations of enterprise infrastructure: MySQL's global services operation, the independent database company SkySQL, and KlearNow.AI's effort to turn customs paperwork into structured, usable trade data. He co-founded KlearNow in 2018, serves as a founder and board member, and is named as a co-inventor on granted US patents in three invention families covering customs clearance, international delivery, and shipment tracking.

- **Role:** Founder and board member at KlearNow.AI
- **Organizations:** KlearNow.AI, SkySQL, MariaDB Corporation, MySQL AB, Sun Microsystems
- **Education:** Master's degree, Lunds Tekniska Högskola (Faculty of Engineering, Lund University)
- **Known for:** Built and led MySQL's worldwide services organization as a senior vice president., Co-founded SkySQL, an independent MySQL and MariaDB services company that later combined with Monty Program and became MariaDB Corporation., Co-founded KlearNow.AI in 2018 with Sam Tyagi and Rick Tellez.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2010** — Served as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Services at MySQL AB and continued with Sun Microsystems after Sun acquired MySQL.
- **2010** — Co-founded SkySQL and became its chief executive, assembling former MySQL personnel to provide independent MySQL and MariaDB support, consulting, and training.
- **2012** — As SkySQL president, described the company's close relationship with MySQL's original creators and MariaDB engineers as its central advantage.
- **2013** — SkySQL signed a merger agreement with Monty Program, the company behind MariaDB; the combined company later became MariaDB Corporation.
- **2018** — Co-founded KlearNow with Sam Tyagi and Rick Tellez to digitize customs clearance and international-shipping workflows.
- **2020** — KlearNow raised a $16 million Series A led by GreatPoint Ventures to expand its digital customs platform.
- **2021** — KlearNow raised a $50 million Series B led by Kayne Partners Fund after reporting a tenfold customer increase and more than 50-fold growth in monthly revenue run rate since the Series A.
- **2022-2023** — US patents naming Sandberg as a co-inventor were granted for customs clearance, shipment tracking, and international delivery systems.
- **2024** — KlearNow marked six years since its founding and publicly recognized Sandberg, Tyagi, Tellez, and early employee Chris Woods.
- **2026** — KlearNow's current leadership page continued to list Sandberg as founder and board member, focused on AI-driven customs and logistics innovation.

## Achievements

- Built and led MySQL's worldwide services organization as a senior vice president.
- Co-founded SkySQL, an independent MySQL and MariaDB services company that later combined with Monty Program and became MariaDB Corporation.
- Co-founded KlearNow.AI in 2018 with Sam Tyagi and Rick Tellez.
- Named as a co-inventor on granted US patents in three invention families for managing shipments, clearing goods through customs agencies, and delivering internationally shipped items.
- Helped KlearNow reach $66 million in disclosed venture funding through its 2020 Series A and 2021 Series B rounds.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — KlearNow's refreshed public leadership page lists Sandberg as founder and board member and describes his focus as AI-driven customs and logistics innovation.
- **2024-04** — KlearNow marked its sixth anniversary and recognized Sandberg alongside co-founders Sam Tyagi and Rick Tellez and early employee Chris Woods.
- **2023-06** — Two KlearNow patents naming Sandberg as a co-inventor were granted in June 2023: one for customs clearance and another for international delivery.

## Links

- Website: https://klearnow.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/usandberg/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ulf-sandberg
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27