Tim Howes is Co-Founder and CTO at Palona AI, a Palo Alto-based startup building high-EQ, fully customizable AI agents for consumer-facing businesses that learn about individual customers and adapt to their needs.

Tim earned his BS in Aerospace Engineering, MS and PhD in Computer Science and Engineering, all from the University of Michigan, and went on to co-invent LDAP, the foundational internet directory protocol now used in Microsoft Active Directory and OpenLDAP worldwide.

Tim has co-authored two books, authored multiple Internet RFCs, and holds several patents, cementing his reputation as one of Silicon Valley's most accomplished technical entrepreneurs.

Tim previously served as CTO at Netscape Server Products, VP of Engineering at Yahoo, CTO at HP Software, Director of AI Infrastructure at Meta, and co-founded Opsware (acquired by HP for $1.65B) and Rockmelt (acquired by Yahoo).

Palona AI launched in January 2025 with $10M in seed funding led by UpHonest Capital, deploying emotionally intelligent AI agents for brands like Wyze and Pizza My Heart to drive personalized sales and customer engagement.