Amir Ansari is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the xFoundry Alliance, a 501(c)(3) national initiative housed in the University of Maryland’s E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory. xFoundry transforms universities into dynamic innovation hubs where multidisciplinary student teams solve grand societal challenges through rigorous, venture-building competitions—with winning teams eligible for investments of up to $2M and guided by fractional C-suite executives. The initiative integrates AI-powered tools, industry partnerships, and expert mentorship to equip students with the skills needed to thrive in an economy shaped by artificial intelligence and rapid technological change.

Throughout his career, Ansari has co-founded companies in telecommunications, artificial intelligence, edge computing, personalized healthcare, and multimedia services, shaping these industries by fostering collaboration among regulatory entities, public-private partnerships, universities, and nonprofit organizations to apply technology to complex business, environmental, and social problems.

Ansari began his career as Co-Founder and CTO of Telecom Technologies Inc., the pioneering developer of Voice Over IP technologies that dramatically reduced the cost of telephone calls and became the key technology innovation for telecom operators in the late 1990s. After the company’s acquisition by Sonus Networks in 2001, he co-founded and served as CTO of Prodea Systems, a groundbreaking developer of Internet of Things services and technologies.

As an inventor, Ansari holds over 70 U.S. and foreign patents in multimedia distribution, data privacy, edge computing, and Voice Over IP. His patents are used in popular consumer products including media streaming devices, smart-home solutions, smart speakers, elder care systems, smart buildings, and connected cars. Additionally, his patents help define how users can maintain control over the privacy and safety of their data while benefiting from the capabilities of smart devices.

Ansari serves on the XPRIZE Foundation’s Board of Directors and is a member of its Vision Circle. Together with his family, he was the title sponsor of the Ansari XPRIZE, a $10 million cash award for the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable crewed spacecraft into space twice within two weeks—a competition widely credited with catalyzing the commercial spaceflight industry.

Co-Founder and Executive Director, E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory, University of Maryland