Guru Banavar
Science & Tech Innovator, Entrepreneur, Investor, Humanist
Guru is driven to develop and apply deep science and technology innovations to solve the big challenges of humanity, especially in health and education. He has founded many successful initiatives, and is known for his work on Host/Microbe Molecular Data Analysis, IBM Watson AI Systems, Smarter Cities, Services Innovation, Mobile Computing, and Distributed Systems. He has a PhD in Computer Science and an MBA (accelerated).
Guru is the founding CTO of Viome Inc, where he leads AI and discovery. Viome offers deep insights into health and disease using host and microbiome gene expression, and provides precision food & supplements to deter chronic diseases. Guru’s focus is on analyzing large host-microbiome gene expression datasets (from blood, stool, saliva, & other samples), and discovering biomarkers and identifying therapeutic targets from clinical research studies targeting metabolic, gastrointestinal, autoimmune, and neurological disorders, as well as cancer. He led the development of a first-of-a-kind saliva-based early detection system for oral and throat cancers using host/microbiome gene expression, which won FDA’s designation as a breakthrough device, and is now available as a product.
Earlier, Guru was a global VP & Chief Science Officer at IBM and a member of IBM CEO’s top executive team. Throughout his IBM career, he developed and commercialized a range of advanced technology solutions in multiple industries, and helped build multiple successful businesses. As the founding VP of the Watson AI Research team, he led a team of hundreds and collaborated with leading universities (MIT, RPI, UIUC, UCSD, etc) to create AI systems that exceed human abilities but also augment human expertise in every domain, from healthcare & education to finance & law.
Guru is a recognized leader who delivered the 2017 Turing Lecture, and has spoken on prestigious stages including the Nobel Prize (twice), the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Milken Conference, and President Obama’s Frontiers Conference. Recent talks include the National Academies of Science, Precision Medicine World Conference, and Exponential Medicine. His awards include a Leadership in Technology Management Award and a National Innovation Award from the President of India. He has served on NY Governor’s commission for state resiliency, and was an elected member of the IBM Academy of Technology. He has published extensively and holds more than 35 US patents. His work has been featured in major international media including the New York Times, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, BBC, and NPR.
