OurCrowd appoints Hasanat Dewan as CIO for new global AI innovation center

Venture investing platform OurCrowd has announced that it has appointed Dr. Hasanat Dewan as its new Chief Innovation Officer. In his role, Dr. Dewan will oversee the development of OurCrowd’s next-generation platform to help investors access venture capital and private markets.

“OurCrowd’s vision of developing a next-generation AI-driven capability, to advance its mission of providing broad access to the global VC investment market via a high-value fintech platform is compelling,” Dr. Dewan said. “OurCrowd’s goals of sharing these benefits with the broader global AI ecosystem and creating an impact on multiple facets of the global stakeholder network is a major part of what attracted me to join the OurCrowd family.”

Dr. Dewan will oversee the deployment of processes, tools, and technology that supports OurCrowd and its business. With a background in technology executive roles for financial institutions, he brings with him experience in spearheading deep data analytics and AI to create new products, services, and platforms to OurCrowd and its investors.

Dr. Dewan received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University, and a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Computer Science and Physics from Brandeis University, where he was also a Wien International Scholar. His plans for OurCrowd include the recruitment of an R&D team from AI hubs to advance OurCrowd’s fintech platform, and launching an ecosystem that encompasses innovation, education, and connectivity.

“OurCrowd’s goal of providing broad access to venture investments will take a quantum leap under the stewardship of Dr. Dewan,” added OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved. “We are assembling a Global AI Ecosystem Advisory Board to assist us in sharing the benefits of OurCrowd’s AI innovation with multiple stakeholders. We are analyzing the best place to base our next-generation innovation team and we will announce our decision shortly.”

OurCrowd was founded in 2013 by Medved and has $1.5 billion of committed funding, with investments in more than 240 portfolio companies and 25 venture funds. Today, it has more than 80,000 accredited and institutional investors, family offices, and VC partners from 1965 counties. Its portfolio companies have been acquired by brands such as Microsoft, Uber, Nike, and Intel.