Team
Michael Budig
CEO + Executive Director
Michael is an enthusiastic designer, educator and technology innovator with 20+ years’ experience as former faculty at SUTD, MIT, ETH Zurich, and Die Angewandte Vienna. With ETH, he set up an innovative robotics lab for architectural research and education. He has received international design and research awards and is an experienced entrepreneur having run an architectural practice in Europe. Michael has collaborated with some of the world’s best consultants and developers such as Arup and Mapletree Business Development.
Rajesh Mohan Elara
Co-Founder + Scientific Advisor
Mohan is the Provost Chair Professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). He has published more than 200 papers in leading journals, books, and conferences while being recognised as the top research contributor globally to the field of reconfigurable robotics. Mohan is the recipient of numerous international al design awards. He is a serial entrepreneur and cofounder of Lionsbot. He has advised SUTD projects funded by Rolls Royce and Samsung not as a consultant.
S.Venkita Padmanabhan (Venkat)
Co-Founder + Strategic Advisor
Venkat is a passionate socialpreneur and angel investor, devoting a large portion of the past three decades to building the multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 firm Olam Group. He has been associated with Olam Group since its time as a startup, becoming the President and Global Head of Finance. Building a career that stemmed from my passion for entrepreneurship, Venkat blends his entrepreneurial spirit with industry gained knowledge to tackle business problems head-on.