PeopleofSuperintelligence

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Raji Baskaran

Also known as Rajashree Baskaran

Raji Baskaran is a technology executive and researcher whose career runs from wearable sensors and enterprise AI at Intel to real-time deepfake detection. She holds a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a master's degree from Cornell University and a bachelor's degree from IIT Madras, and her more than 15 years at Intel spanned silicon R&D, supply chain management and engineering, wearable technologies, and AI/NLP enterprise products. In 2016 she gave an invited review on sensors and haptics for wearables at IEDM, and in 2017 SEMI's MEMS & Sensors Industry Group inducted her into its Hall of Fame while she was pathfinding lead for Hardware and Software Co-optimization in Intel's Saffron Technology Group. Beyond Intel, she founded Manifolds Lab, co-founded Superbloom Studios, led multi-year DARPA-funded initiatives and served as principal investigator on US Department of Defense AI programs on geospatial text understanding. She is founder and CEO of Project Karna, a company that works on real-time deepfake detection, and an Associate Research Fellow at IIT Madras's Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Now at
Project Karna, IIT Madras and University of Washington
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Timeline

  1. 2016

    An IEDM review on wearables

    While at Intel, she gives an invited review titled "Sensors and Haptics Technologies for User Interface Design in Wearables" at IEDM 2016. Her Intel career of more than 15 years spans silicon R&D, supply chain management and engineering, wearable technologies, and AI/NLP enterprise products.

  2. 2017

    SEMI MSIG Hall of Fame

    In 2017, SEMI's MEMS & Sensors Industry Group inducts her into its Hall of Fame. At the time, she is pathfinding lead for Hardware and Software Co-optimization in Intel's Saffron Technology Group.

  3. By 2025

    Manifolds Lab and Superbloom

    By 2025, she has founded Manifolds Lab, a company specializing in AI and sensor-enabled systems, and co-founded Superbloom Studios, a consulting studio anchored on inclusivity that offers data science, product marketing and go-to-market services. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a master's degree from Cornell University and a bachelor's degree from IIT Madras.

  4. 2025

    Project Karna and deepfake detection

    In 2025, she is founder and CEO of Project Karna, a company that verifies trust in the age of AI through real-time deepfake detection. Project Karna focuses on restoring trust in digital communication systems in the era of generative AI, and she leads its technology vision, R&D roadmap and go-to-market strategy.

  5. By 2026

    DARPA and Defense Department AI

    By 2026, she has led multi-year DARPA-funded initiatives and served as principal investigator on U.S. Department of Defense AI programs focused on advanced geospatial text understanding.

  6. As of October 2026

    Karna CEO and IIT Madras fellow

    As of October 2026, she is CEO of Project Karna and an Associate Research Fellow at RBCDSAI, the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at IIT Madras. She is also an affiliate professor at the University of Washington and a venture partner and advisor to deep-tech startups.

Career

  1. NowProject KarnaFounder and CEO
  2. NowIIT MadrasAssociate Research Fellow
  3. NowUniversity of WashingtonAffiliate Professor
  4. From 2017IntelPathfinding Lead for Hardware and Software Co-optimization
  5. Manifolds LabFounder
  6. Superbloom StudiosCo-founder

Education

  1. University of California, Santa BarbaraPhD
  2. Cornell UniversityMaster's degree
  3. IIT MadrasBachelor's degree

From the biography.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Washington. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Washington. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. Of 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google, 446 work there nowIncludes University of Washington. Our estimates of where the 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google and Google DeepMind work now: 446 at Google and 452 across 278 other organizations.
  4. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes University of Washington. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Raji Baskaran yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. IEDM 2016 Next Week! (Part 2) | Siliconica sst.semiconductor-digest.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Raji Baskaran | Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence rbcdsai.iitm.ac.in. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. MEMS & Sensors Safeguard Autonomous Cars, Boost Agricultural Productivity and Anticipate Needs prnewswire.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Dr. Rajashree Baskaran - Indiaspora indiaspora.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. Rajashree Baskaran | theindustryshow.org theindustryshow.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Rajashree 'Raji' Baskaran: Leading Innovation with Purpose in AI & Deep Tech | Arun Pandit arunpandit.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. Raji Baskaran - AI for Good aiforgood.itu.int. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. Raji Baskaran | Wadhwani School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence wsai.iitm.ac.in. Checked 22 October 2026.