I am an Italo-American AI executive, scientist, entrepreneur, and founder focused on turning advanced brain-inspired research into practical products with global reach. I co-founded Neurala Inc., where I served as CEO, President, and Board Member, building the company from early research into a commercial AI business. What began with NASA- and DARPA-funded research grew into patented edge-AI technology deployed in approximately 80 million systems worldwide, spanning robotics, drones, smartphones, cameras, industrial automation, and manufacturing.
At Neurala, I led the development and commercialization of the patented Lifelong-DNN™, helped build the company’s intellectual-property portfolio, raised $35M in venture capital, and worked with global technology and Fortune 100 partners to move AI from research into products operating under real-world power, latency, reliability, and cost constraints.
Today, I serve as Vice President and Global Head of Emergent AI at Analog Devices, where I lead work at the intersection of AI, sensing, compute, and the physical world. My focus is on Physical AI, ultra-efficient AI compute, neuromorphic and brain-inspired architectures, robotics, autonomous systems, and the semiconductor platforms required to bring intelligence into real-world devices.
I came to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar and hold two Ph.D.s spanning artificial intelligence, neural networks, and computational neuroscience: Cognitive and Neural Systems at Boston University, and Experimental Psychology at the University of Trieste, Italy. Before Neurala, I was a Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Boston University, where I co-founded the Boston University Neuromorphics Lab and helped pioneer brain-inspired AI and robotics research that moved from the lab into real-world products.
My career spans more than 25 years across AI research, startups, venture-backed company building, product commercialization, semiconductors, and large-scale technology deployment. My work has been featured in TIME, IEEE Spectrum, Fortune, TechCrunch, and VentureBeat, among others.
The companies and technologies I have helped build have been recognized through the CB Insights AI 100, the Draper Venture Network Most Innovative Company award, Disruptor Daily’s Top 100 Most Disruptive Companies, the Edison Award, the TechConnect Defense Innovation Award, and UNESCO recognition, among others. Thanks to our pioneering work with NASA, the AI technology developed with my colleagues at Boston University and Neurala was inducted into the 2026 Space Technology Hall of Fame, recognizing the path from space robotics research to real-world AI impact on Earth.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Max Versace is Global Head of Emergent AI at Analog Devices, former CEO and co-founder of Neurala, and a pioneer in brain-inspired AI, Edge AI, Physical AI, and AI compute. Over more than 25 years across academia, startups, and industry, his work has helped bring AI to approximately 80 million embedded systems worldwide, spanning robots, drones, consumer devices, industrial systems, and intelligent cameras. He co-founded the Boston University Neuromorphics Lab, collaborated with DARPA on brain-inspired computing and NASA on advanced AI for space robotics, and the technology he helped pioneer was inducted into the 2026 Space Technology Hall of Fame. A Fulbright Scholar, he holds two Ph.D.s spanning AI, neural networks, and computational neuroscience.
Selected Essays
Why the Next AI Revolution Will Be Hardware + Software
On neuromorphic computing, Edge AI, semiconductor platforms and the growing importance of hardware/software co-design.
How I Think About Betting on a New AI Architecture
Thoughts on evaluating unconventional AI through scientific evidence, intellectual property, compute economics, commercialization and governance.
From AI Research to the Real World: What I Learned Building a Brain-Inspired AI Company
Reflections on moving computational neuroscience and AI research through venture funding, intellectual property, productization and enterprise deployment.