Don Sharma

AI Strategist | Speaker | Innovation Driver | Business Advisor | Strategic Marketer

Don is an expert in identifying emerging technology disruptions at global corporations and dynamic startups. He has been a pioneer in AI adoption for diverse businesses since 2015. Renowned for his ability to connect smaller projects to overarching strategic goals, Don's insights are indispensable for navigating the rapidly changing AI landscape.

I have consistently uncovered and leveraged disruptive opportunities within organizations and transformed visions into tangible realities:

🔥 My role at Untwine AI centers around harnessing the transformative power of AI for business advancement. In 2019, I founded Untwine AI, a pioneering venture to accelerate enterprises' seamless transition into a data-driven, AI-empowered digital era well ahead of today's widespread AI interest.

☁️ Previously, as the leader of Global Partnerships and Business Development at VMware, I was instrumental in VMware Cloud Foundation's (VCF) market introduction and acceptance, an innovative software and hardware solution that automated the deployment of scalable private or public clouds. Notably, VCF is the flagship product that has endured through the Broadcom acquisition of VMware.

💡 Recognizing the imminent impact of LED lighting technology, I co-founded New Energy, a U.S.-based LED light design and manufacturing company, to chart a course for traditional American light fixture manufacturers, reliant on analog incandescent bulbs, to thrive in a digital landscape. This visionary approach led to a successful exit of the company within five years.

🧑🏽‍💻 At the forefront of social media innovation, I launched one of the initial business-oriented crowdsourced applications, Openbook, on Facebook when the platform had fewer than 100,000 users. This initiative provided valuable insights into corporate cultures for job seekers and businesses alike, laying the groundwork for what Glassdoor.com has expanded upon.

⚡️I also spearheaded a strategic shift in Renesas Semiconductor's flash memory business, customizing device architecture for hard disk drives (HDD), now the foundational data storage solutions used in data centers and laptops.

✴️ Further, I persuaded Mitsubishi Electric's semiconductor division to invest in System-on-Chip (SoC) technology, anticipating the impending mobile convergence, later exemplified by the iPhone. Today, SoCs are a crucial component in the portfolios of giants like Tesla, Apple, and Qualcomm, and they grow exponentially driven by AI applications demand.

🧑🏽‍💻 At Advansoft Research, I was a trailblazer in the automated software algorithm domain, now recognized as AI, for translating textual semiconductor circuit descriptions into graphical schematics. This methodology later became the cornerstone of the Electronic Design Automation industry.

💫 As a trusted advisor, I empower organizations to embrace disruption and build pathways to these new opportunities, achieving ROI-driven outcomes.