# Vishal Sikka

> Vishal Sikka is the founder and CEO of Vianai Systems, an enterprise AI company he started in 2019. A Stanford-trained computer scientist, he previously created SAP HANA as SAP's first-ever CTO and led Infosys as its first non-founder CEO. He sits on the boards of Oracle and BMW Group, advises Stanford's Human-Centered AI Institute, and has championed the idea that AI should amplify - not replace - human creativity.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Vianai Systems, Inc.
- **Organizations:** Vianai Systems, Inc., Oracle Corporation (Board), BMW Group (Supervisory Board), GlaxoSmithKline (Board), Stanford HAI (Advisory Council)
- **From:** Shajapur, India
- **Nationality:** American (Indian-born)
- **Education:** Secondary Education, Rosary High School, Computer Engineering (discontinued), Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, B.S. in Computer Science, Syracuse University, Ph.D. in Computer Science, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Created SAP HANA - the fastest-growing product in SAP's history, Named SAP's first-ever Chief Technology Officer (2007), First non-founder CEO of Infosys, a $10B+ revenue global company

## Career timeline

- **1967** — Born in Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh, India
- **~1973** — Family relocates to Vadodara, Gujarat
- **1996** — Completes Ph.D. at Stanford; dissertation: 'Integrating Specialized Procedures into Proof Systems,' advised by Michael Genesereth
- **~1996-2000** — Brief research tenure at Xerox PARC; founded iBrain (acquired by PatternRX) and Bodha.com
- **~2001** — Joins Peregrine Systems as Area Vice President
- **2002** — Joins SAP to lead advanced technology group
- **2007** — Named SAP's first-ever Chief Technology Officer
- **2010** — Appointed to SAP's reconstituted executive board; credited with creating SAP HANA
- **2014** — Named CEO and Managing Director of Infosys - first non-founder CEO in company history
- **2015** — Infosys among first sponsors of OpenAI under Sikka's leadership
- **2017** — Resigns from Infosys; India Today ranks him #32 in India's 50 Most Powerful People
- **2019** — Founds Vianai Systems with $50M initial funding; Oracle board appointment
- **2022** — Vianai raises $200M round (total funding reaches $440M)
- **2025** — Vianai integrates hila with Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise and SAP generative tools

## Achievements

- Created SAP HANA - the fastest-growing product in SAP's history
- Named SAP's first-ever Chief Technology Officer (2007)
- First non-founder CEO of Infosys, a $10B+ revenue global company
- Founded Vianai Systems, raising $440M total funding
- Board member: Oracle Corporation, BMW Group Supervisory Board, GlaxoSmithKline
- Advisor, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI)
- Among first institutional sponsors of OpenAI (2015, via Infosys)
- Inducted into Indiaspora's list of distinguished Indian-American leaders
- India Today #32 in India's 50 Most Powerful People (2017)
- Contributed chapter to 'Points of View,' a tribute anthology honoring Alan Kay

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Spoke at India Today AI Summit 2026, dismissing AGI talk as 'nonsense' and calling AI 'just a tool' while advocating India's leadership in responsible AI.
- **2026-02** — Clarified his 2015 OpenAI investment, explaining his early conviction in the trajectory of AI development.
- **2025** — Co-authored academic paper with teenage son on mathematical limitations of LLMs for complex agentic tasks.
- **2025-12** — Vianai integrates hila platform with Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise and SAP generative tools for multi-model enterprise AI support.
- **2022-04** — Vianai Systems raises $200M in new funding, bringing total raised to $440M.

## Links

- Website: https://vian.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishal-sikka-869a6b2
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/vsikka
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/vianaisystems/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/vishal-sikka
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-10