Shankar Ponnekanti is Co-Founder and CTO at TrustLab, an AI-powered Trust and Safety platform dedicated to making the internet safer and more trusted for users worldwide.

Shankar earned a BTech in Computer Science from IIT Madras and a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University, before spending 15 years at Google as a Distinguished Engineer specializing in audience targeting and monetization in emerging markets.

At Google, Shankar led the team responsible for Brand Safety and Suitability on YouTube, successfully navigating the platform's high-stakes monetization crisis in 2017.

As CTO, Shankar drives TrustLab's technology strategy, building cutting-edge software and ML-powered tools that help the world's largest social media platforms, online marketplaces, and apps detect and mitigate harmful content at scale.

TrustLab has raised $15M in Series A funding led by U.S. Venture Partners and Foundation Capital, and has deployed its technology with leading social networks, messaging companies, and marketplaces globally.