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As AI infrastructure outgrows tightly coupled systems, we’re witnessing a shift toward openness and modularity in designing full-stack solutions for AI. In this session, we’ll examine the rise of Software-Driven Fabrics (SDF) , a programmable, vendor-neutral control plane for modern AI networking. SDF makes real-time data coordination across heterogeneous accelerators and fabrics possible, offering a new, democratized model for GPU scalability and network resiliency.

Software Infra

Author:

Prashanth Thinakaran

Distinguished AI Infrastructure Engineer
Clockwork Systems

Prashanth Thinakaran is a Distinguished AI Infrastructure Engineer at Clockwork Systems, a pioneer in nano-second precise network telemetry and software-driven resilience that addresses the unprecedented scale, performance, and reliability Modern AI workloads demand from GPU clusters. In this role, he partners with AI Infrastructure teams at enterprises, hyperscalers and neoclouds to increase their visibility into issues impacting cluster uptime and optimize their availability and utilization with Clockwork’s solution. 

Previously, he helped AI-native companies build on cloud-based GPU platforms, providing deep technical guidance on distributed training and inference, multi-node scaling, and performance tuning across complex infrastructure stacks. His Neocloud experience bridged the gap between product engineering and customer enablement, helping fast-moving teams adopt best practices in massive-scale model deployment and operations. Prior to that, Prashanth played a pivotal role at Cerebras Systems -  a market leader in high-speed inferencing, - in the design, and deployment of Condor Galaxy 1, a Wafer-scale supercomputer. His work enabled rapid deployment timelines and seamless scaling of AI infrastructure across globally distributed data centers designed for both Inference and Training.

Prashanth also holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from Penn State, where his research focused on high-performance computing and cloud systems. His academic work has been published in top-tier venues including USENIX NSDI, ACM Middleware, ICDCS, and ACM SoCC. He has authored over a dozen peer-reviewed papers and a book chapter, and served as a reviewer for journals such as IEEE TPDS and TCC. During his Ph.D., he held teaching roles in systems programming, and computer architecture, and collaborated with Intel, VMware, and Adobe Research through internships, solving systems challenges at the intersection of academia and industry.



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Prashanth Thinakaran

Distinguished AI Infrastructure Engineer
Clockwork Systems

Prashanth Thinakaran is a Distinguished AI Infrastructure Engineer at Clockwork Systems, a pioneer in nano-second precise network telemetry and software-driven resilience that addresses the unprecedented scale, performance, and reliability Modern AI workloads demand from GPU clusters. In this role, he partners with AI Infrastructure teams at enterprises, hyperscalers and neoclouds to increase their visibility into issues impacting cluster uptime and optimize their availability and utilization with Clockwork’s solution. 

Previously, he helped AI-native companies build on cloud-based GPU platforms, providing deep technical guidance on distributed training and inference, multi-node scaling, and performance tuning across complex infrastructure stacks. His Neocloud experience bridged the gap between product engineering and customer enablement, helping fast-moving teams adopt best practices in massive-scale model deployment and operations. Prior to that, Prashanth played a pivotal role at Cerebras Systems -  a market leader in high-speed inferencing, - in the design, and deployment of Condor Galaxy 1, a Wafer-scale supercomputer. His work enabled rapid deployment timelines and seamless scaling of AI infrastructure across globally distributed data centers designed for both Inference and Training.

Prashanth also holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from Penn State, where his research focused on high-performance computing and cloud systems. His academic work has been published in top-tier venues including USENIX NSDI, ACM Middleware, ICDCS, and ACM SoCC. He has authored over a dozen peer-reviewed papers and a book chapter, and served as a reviewer for journals such as IEEE TPDS and TCC. During his Ph.D., he held teaching roles in systems programming, and computer architecture, and collaborated with Intel, VMware, and Adobe Research through internships, solving systems challenges at the intersection of academia and industry.



Systems Optimization
Memory

Author:

Puneet Kumar

CEO
Rivos

Puneet Kumar, CEO and co-founder of Rivos Inc., which he established in May 2021. His impressive career includes leading the ChromeOS Platform Engineering team at Google as a Senior Director, where he oversaw the program's growth to over 100 million users. Puneet's entrepreneurial journey includes co-founding Agnilux (acquired by Google), where he served as VP of Engineering, and PASemi Inc. (acquired by Apple), where he was an Engineering Director in the Platform Architecture team. He also held senior leadership positions at SiByte Inc. (acquired by Broadcom) and was a Systems Researcher at Digital Equipment Corporation's Systems Research Center. Puneet holds a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

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Puneet Kumar

CEO
Rivos

Puneet Kumar, CEO and co-founder of Rivos Inc., which he established in May 2021. His impressive career includes leading the ChromeOS Platform Engineering team at Google as a Senior Director, where he oversaw the program's growth to over 100 million users. Puneet's entrepreneurial journey includes co-founding Agnilux (acquired by Google), where he served as VP of Engineering, and PASemi Inc. (acquired by Apple), where he was an Engineering Director in the Platform Architecture team. He also held senior leadership positions at SiByte Inc. (acquired by Broadcom) and was a Systems Researcher at Digital Equipment Corporation's Systems Research Center. Puneet holds a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

Software Infra

Author:

Ankur Mehrotra

GM, SageMaker AI
AWS

Ankur Mehrotra is a GM at AWS Machine Learning and leads foundational SageMaker AI services such as SageMaker Studio, Notebooks, Training, Inference, Feature Store, MLOps, etc. Before SageMaker AI, he led AI services for personalization, forecasting, healthcare & life sciences, edge AI devices and SDKs, as well as thought leadership programs such as AWS DeepRacer. Ankur has worked at Amazon for over 15 years. Before joining AWS, he spent several years in Amazon’s Consumer organization, where he led the development of automated marketing/advertising systems, as well as automated pricing systems.

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Ankur Mehrotra

GM, SageMaker AI
AWS

Ankur Mehrotra is a GM at AWS Machine Learning and leads foundational SageMaker AI services such as SageMaker Studio, Notebooks, Training, Inference, Feature Store, MLOps, etc. Before SageMaker AI, he led AI services for personalization, forecasting, healthcare & life sciences, edge AI devices and SDKs, as well as thought leadership programs such as AWS DeepRacer. Ankur has worked at Amazon for over 15 years. Before joining AWS, he spent several years in Amazon’s Consumer organization, where he led the development of automated marketing/advertising systems, as well as automated pricing systems.

Systems Optimization

Author:

Haseeb Budhani

Co-Founder & CEO
Rafay Systems

Haseeb Budhani is the CEO and co-founder of Rafay Systems. He previously co-founded and led Soha Systems, which was acquired by Akamai Technologies, where he later served as Vice President of Enterprise Strategy. Haseeb has also held executive and leadership roles at Infineta Systems, NET, and several other technology companies. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California.

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Haseeb Budhani

Co-Founder & CEO
Rafay Systems

Haseeb Budhani is the CEO and co-founder of Rafay Systems. He previously co-founded and led Soha Systems, which was acquired by Akamai Technologies, where he later served as Vice President of Enterprise Strategy. Haseeb has also held executive and leadership roles at Infineta Systems, NET, and several other technology companies. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California.

Author:

Vinesh Sukumar

VP of Product Management for AI
Qualcomm

Vinesh Sukumar currently serves as VP of Product Management for AI at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc (QTI).  In this role, he leads AI product definition, strategy and solution deployment across multiple business units.

He has about 20 years of industry experience spread across research, engineering and application deployment. He currently holds a doctorate degree specializing in imaging and vision systems while also completing a business degree focused on strategy and marketing. He is a regular speaker in many AI industry forums and has authored several journal papers and two technical books.

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Vinesh Sukumar

VP of Product Management for AI
Qualcomm

Vinesh Sukumar currently serves as VP of Product Management for AI at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc (QTI).  In this role, he leads AI product definition, strategy and solution deployment across multiple business units.

He has about 20 years of industry experience spread across research, engineering and application deployment. He currently holds a doctorate degree specializing in imaging and vision systems while also completing a business degree focused on strategy and marketing. He is a regular speaker in many AI industry forums and has authored several journal papers and two technical books.

Author:

Nikhil Tyagi

Senior Manager, Wireless Device Innovation Strategy
Verizon

Nikhil Tyagi is a recognized leader in next-generation technology, with a proven track record at the intersection of AI infrastructure, wireless innovation, and immersive computing. As Senior Manager of Wireless Device Innovation at Verizon, he leads strategic initiatives for breakthrough device categories that integrate AI, XR (AR/VR), and advanced connectivity.

Previously, Nikhil held key roles at Humane, Meta, and Apple, where he helped shape pioneering AI and XR experiences—from developing on-device intelligence for ambient computing, to architecting scalable XR systems and wearable platforms. His cross-functional expertise spans edge AI, spatial computing, and system-level wireless design, making him a pivotal voice in the evolving landscape of AI-driven interfaces."

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Nikhil Tyagi

Senior Manager, Wireless Device Innovation Strategy
Verizon

Nikhil Tyagi is a recognized leader in next-generation technology, with a proven track record at the intersection of AI infrastructure, wireless innovation, and immersive computing. As Senior Manager of Wireless Device Innovation at Verizon, he leads strategic initiatives for breakthrough device categories that integrate AI, XR (AR/VR), and advanced connectivity.

Previously, Nikhil held key roles at Humane, Meta, and Apple, where he helped shape pioneering AI and XR experiences—from developing on-device intelligence for ambient computing, to architecting scalable XR systems and wearable platforms. His cross-functional expertise spans edge AI, spatial computing, and system-level wireless design, making him a pivotal voice in the evolving landscape of AI-driven interfaces."

Systems Optimization

Author:

Apala Guha

Principal AI Architect
Microsoft

Apala Guha is Principal AI Architect at Microsoft. In her current role, she studies AI model architectures and analyzes their behavior and performance on GPUs. With these insights, she co-designs SoCs, systems and compilers for Azure AI. In the past, she was part of AI hardware development at Tenstorrent and Lightmatter. She has a PhD in Computer Engineering from University of Virginia and has held several academic research positions on accelerator compilers.

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Apala Guha

Principal AI Architect
Microsoft

Apala Guha is Principal AI Architect at Microsoft. In her current role, she studies AI model architectures and analyzes their behavior and performance on GPUs. With these insights, she co-designs SoCs, systems and compilers for Azure AI. In the past, she was part of AI hardware development at Tenstorrent and Lightmatter. She has a PhD in Computer Engineering from University of Virginia and has held several academic research positions on accelerator compilers.

Author:

James Kelly

VP Market Intelligence & Innovation
Open Compute Project

James joined the OCP Foundation staff in 2024 as VP Market Intelligence and Innovation, working with technology leaders in the community and augmenting the foundation’s directional strategy, innovation efforts and marketing. His contributions to the OCP proceed from over two decades of experience in technology research, engineering, product management and marketing.

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James Kelly

VP Market Intelligence & Innovation
Open Compute Project

James joined the OCP Foundation staff in 2024 as VP Market Intelligence and Innovation, working with technology leaders in the community and augmenting the foundation’s directional strategy, innovation efforts and marketing. His contributions to the OCP proceed from over two decades of experience in technology research, engineering, product management and marketing.

Author:

Dharmesh Jani

Director of AI Infrastructure Ecosystem & Partnerships
Meta
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Dharmesh Jani

Director of AI Infrastructure Ecosystem & Partnerships
Meta

Author:

Pyungsu Han

VP & CTO
Qualitas Semiconductor

Pyungsu Han is the Vice President and CTO of R&D at Qualitas Semiconductor.
He holds a Ph.D. from Yonsei University and previously worked at LG Electronics.
With deep expertise in high-speed interconnect technology, he leads cutting-edge R&D initiatives and drives strategic growth in the semiconductor industry.

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Pyungsu Han

VP & CTO
Qualitas Semiconductor

Pyungsu Han is the Vice President and CTO of R&D at Qualitas Semiconductor.
He holds a Ph.D. from Yonsei University and previously worked at LG Electronics.
With deep expertise in high-speed interconnect technology, he leads cutting-edge R&D initiatives and drives strategic growth in the semiconductor industry.