Team

The TNE.ai team has spent over 35 years at the companies that defined every major technology revolution: the PC era at Microsoft, mobile at Apple, cloud at Amazon, virtualization at VMware, enterprise software at Pivotal. We were not observers — we were product leads, engineers, and executives who built the platforms that changed how the world works.

Beyond the platform companies, the team has spent decades at the heart of venture capital and private equity investing — backing and building the companies that defined technology categories — and founding successful AI startups from pre-revenue through exit. We understand what it takes to build, fund, and scale technology companies, not just operate within them.

AI is the biggest platform revolution yet, and it is the first one that every organization can build for itself rather than just adopt. The TNE.ai team is building the tools, methodology, and partner network to make that possible for every organization — from the largest regulated enterprise to the smallest SME.

Richard Tong

Co-founder & CEO

Rich has spent 30 years at the leading edge of every major technology wave — PC, mobile, cloud, Asia, and now AI.

At Microsoft he rose to VP of Product Management on the Executive Staff, where he led Excel from 5% to 25% market share and then drove BackOffice enterprise sales from $49M to $1.2B in 18 months — ultimately to $12.5B — across Windows NT, SQL Server, and Exchange. He went on to co-found Ignition Partners and Qiming Venture Capital, firms that together manage over $11B and backed companies including DocuSign and Xiaomi.

He founded surround.io, which became Xevo — the world’s largest software-only Tier-1 automotive supplier — before its acquisition by Lear Corporation. That experience building mission-critical software at automotive scale is the foundation for TNE.ai.

Rich holds 13 patents in computer vision, machine learning, and robotics. He holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford and a BS EECS summa cum laude from Princeton.

Paul Maritz

Chairman

Paul Maritz has shaped the technology industry across five decades — from Intel product management to Microsoft’s Office of the President, where he led all Systems and Tools products including Windows, Windows NT, and Visual Studio.

He founded Pi Corp to pioneer cloud computing (acquired by EMC), then led the VMware spin-out as CEO, creating billions in shareholder value before leading Pivotal (acquired by Dell-EMC). He serves as Executive Chairman of TNE.ai and holds board positions across quantum computing, enterprise software, and emerging technology companies.

Satoshi Nakajima

Co-founder and CTO

Satoshi Nakajima is a software architect and entrepreneur with a career that spans the defining platforms of the last 30 years.

At Microsoft he designed Windows 95 Explorer and Internet Explorer 3.0 and 4.0. He co-founded Ignition Partners, one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading venture firms, and built UIEvolution into the world’s only software-only Tier-1 automotive supplier. He also created one of the first photo-sharing apps, reaching the top 200 iTunes applications in 2008. At TNE.ai he leads the technical architecture of the Orion platform and Compass fleet infrastructure.

Trang Le

Co-founder and COO

Trang Le built her career in supply chain and operations at the largest scale: managing the global server division supply chain at Intel, overseeing hyperscaler accounts including Google and Apple.

She co-founded Restart Partners, which sourced and distributed over 100 million pieces of PPE to hospitals, non-profits, and emergency organisations across the US during the COVID-19 pandemic — coordinating with DHL, the LA Red Cross, and the Utah National Guard. She currently leads efforts to reduce housing construction costs through AI-driven manufacturing and supply chain innovation. She holds an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Samuel Tan

Chief Product Officer

Samuel Tan leads product strategy at TNE.ai. He is a seasoned technology executive with extensive experience in digital transformation across Asia Pacific. He served as Chief Digital Officer at Singapore Power Group (SP Group), where he led the development of digital services and smart energy solutions for Singapore’s national utility. Prior to that, he was Group Chief Digital Officer at Frasers Property, driving digital innovation across the global real estate portfolio.

Earlier in his career, Samuel held senior technology roles at GE, where he gained deep expertise in industrial digital transformation, data analytics, and enterprise technology platforms. His experience spans the intersection of technology strategy, product development, and large-scale digital transformation.

Deon Blaauw

Chief Science and Research Officer

Deon Blaauw spent a decade building mission-critical autonomous systems — designing embedded flight control software for fixed-wing, rotary, and multirotor vehicles at Siemens and Lockheed Martin.

He now applies that same rigor to enterprise AI: using transformers and transfer learning to solve real business problems and push the boundary of what robots can understand about the physical world. At TNE.ai he leads applied AI research and is responsible for model quality and scientific integrity across the platform.

Rakuto Furutani

Senior AI Architect

Rakuto Furutani is a software architect and ML engineer with deep expertise in cloud-scale systems, model fine-tuning, and MLOps across automotive, hospitality, and enterprise industries.

His systems power smartphone integration in production vehicles worldwide — including Lexus Enform, Toyota Link, and Entune — and he has built mission-critical software on constrained platforms from Intel Atom to automotive-grade embedded devices. At TNE.ai he leads AI architecture for Compass fleet deployments.

Lucas Hahn

Senior AI Architect

Lucas Hahn is a software architect specializing in AI, machine learning, distributed computing, and cloud systems. He has built production-grade software across enterprise, fintech, and media industries.

At TNE.ai he works across the Compass agent fleet layer — designing scalable, maintainable AI systems for enterprise deployment. Outside of engineering, he is a professional jazz pianist and composer who has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival and SFJAZZ Center.

LinkedIn, Apple Music and Bandcamp

Jim Alateras

Senior AI Architect

Jim Alateras is a software architect and engineering leader with 20+ years building production systems across media measurement, agriculture technology, and enterprise software.

A published O’Reilly author and active open-source contributor, he has held roles spanning Senior Technical Architect, Engineering Manager, and CTO. His technical expertise covers Python, cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud), data engineering, and MLOps. At TNE.ai he applies that depth to Compass fleet architecture and enterprise AI integration. He holds a degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from Victoria University, Melbourne.

Cameron Chen

AI Architect

Cameron Chen is an AI Architect specializing in enterprise AI systems, data governance, and regulatory compliance. Based in Portland, he brings expertise in building and deploying mission-critical AI applications.

He is a member of the Cloud Data Management Committee (CDMC) AI and Data Governance (ADAC) working group, where he is a frequent contributor to regulatory and governance frameworks for AI systems.

Cameron holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he was a student leader. In his few off hours, he manages and frequents boutique coffee shops.

Isamu Arimoto

AI Architect

Isamu Arimoto is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has co-founded multiple technology companies spanning AI, mobile, and enterprise software.

He is a core contributor to GraphAI and SlashGPT — open-source AI agent frameworks used by developers worldwide — and serves on the Board of the Singularity Society. At TNE.ai he brings deep expertise in AI agent architecture and open-source ecosystem development to the Compass platform.

Oscar Alateras

AI Architect

Oscar Alateras is an AI Architect at TNE.ai specializing in production-grade AI agent systems and enterprise integration.

He works across the full Compass fleet deployment lifecycle — from architecture and configuration through to integration with enterprise data systems and monitoring in production. His focus is building AI systems that are reliable, auditable, and ready for mission-critical workloads.