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Mahaveer Dharmchand

Key Insights & Philosophy​

  • On AI Implementation: "AI is not like [traditional SaaS]... It's a constant cycle. You implement an AI in an organization, you implement and leave it? No. It requires continuous learning, continuous fine-tuning, continuous maintenance."
  • On Non-Deterministic Systems: "Agentic AI systems are non-deterministic systems... They work like our brains. They're cognitive systems... They understand your data, understand your business workflows, understand your requirements and then do the proper reasoning."
  • On Future Talent: "The juniors are the ones who think beyond the limits... They don't have risk. They can think unlimited. You need those kind of people, very very important."
  • On Success: "I was not one of the best students... But in my life I was smart enough than them [Harvard/Stanford grads]. It's all in the mind. How do you think? How do you make it happen?"
  • On the AI Era: "The next 10 years I can promise you, this is going to be the space that anybody wants to be... Either you are a technical person or non-technical person, doesn't matter. It's mandated now."

Strategic Value for Applied AI Society​

  • Can provide enterprise perspective on AI implementation challenges
  • Has experience training and deploying AI at scale through Accenture
  • Understands the gap between AI tools and business implementation
  • Willing to speak at events and help develop curriculum
  • Offers venue support through Blenders and Bowls
  • Can validate market need for Applied AI engineers/consultants
  • Potential customer/partner for Applied AI talent pipeline

Background​

  • Owner of an açai shop (Blenders and Bowls mentioned, potentially his brand or just where they met) in Austin, located near 5th Street and Lamar.
  • Originally from India.
  • Former IBM employee for 18 years, worked with financial services customers.
  • Co-creator of IBM Watson (the AI that famously competed in Jeopardy and beat chess champions).
  • Previous company was acquired by Accenture; currently exiting after acquisition (13 months post-acquisition as of April 2025).
  • Interested in international granite/stone export business.
  • Has a daughter who is a freshman at McNeil High School (public school in Round Rock ISD).
  • Believes education is highly valued in Indian culture.

Skills & Interests​

  • Entrepreneurship (multiple businesses).
  • Food & Beverage (Açai shop owner - Blenders and Bowls).
  • International Trade/Export (Stone business).
  • IT/Tech (IBM background).
  • Artificial Intelligence: Deep background, co-creator of foundational AI (IBM Watson). Currently developing a new AI startup within Accenture.
  • Volunteering (Taught coding/IOT/digital twins at McNeil High).
  • Potentially interested in AI/Healthcare (considering joining CVS as Chief AI Officer?).
  • Real-time Data Systems: Expert in data context layer for AI/agentic systems.

Current Projects​

  • QuantiContext: New startup focused on providing real-time, context-based data for AI and agentic systems. Addresses the data layer problem by extracting real-time network data with context for industries like telecom, healthcare, manufacturing, and supply chain. Currently hiring CTO and building prototype. Has 2 engineers (Saudi Arabia and India). Conducted 200+ validation interviews over 6 months.
  • Parental AI / Buddy System: Previous AI agent startup concept within Accenture.
  • Açai Shop business (Blenders and Bowls) - stabilized operations with mostly female staff from UT Austin and ACC.
  • International stone export business.

Connection Points​

  • Met Gary Sheng at his açai shop.
  • Key validator and potential partner for Applied AI Society - strongly endorsed the concept as "very relevant."
  • Potential speaker/trainer for Applied AI events and bootcamps.
  • Offered Blenders and Bowls as workspace/meeting venue for Gary (free wifi, good work environment).
  • Shares entrepreneurial mindset with Gary.
  • Could provide enterprise AI implementation expertise from Accenture experience.
  • Strong connections within Round Rock ISD.
  • Looking for GTM (go-to-market) talent for QuantiContext - potential collaboration opportunity.
  • Believes in training young people for AI implementation roles.

Interactions​

  • 2025-04-12: Met Gary Sheng, Cintya Montero, James Allen, Peter Han at his açai shop. Discussed his businesses, his daughter's schooling, potential collaboration with Alpha School for outreach at McNeil High, and hosting future Alpha Hacks events at his venue.
  • 2025-04-18 (Afternoon): Visited Alpha School with Gary Sheng. Met MacKenzie Price, Chris Locke, Johnny Rapp, Alex Mathew, Emily Villa, Chris Schaas, Noble Grant and others. Discussed integrating Alpha's Two Hour Learning program into McNeil High (potentially after school). Showcased his "Parental AI / Buddy System" startup concept. Offered to participate in/judge Alpha Hacks. Provided açai bowls for the team. Agreed to connect further with Alex Mathew about his project. Discussed need for marketing materials for McNeil outreach with Emily Villa.
  • 2025-04-18 (Late Afternoon Tour): Participated in a tour of Alpha High School led by Carson, alongside Gary Sheng. Met engineers Arpan Gupta and Bjorn Pagen, and guide Chloe.
  • 2025-12-09: Met Gary at Blenders and Bowls to discuss QuantiContext startup and Applied AI Society collaboration. Revealed IBM's $11B acquisition of Confluent validates his real-time data vision (been thinking about it for 3-4 years). Explained how AI/agentic systems are "non-deterministic" requiring continuous evolution vs one-time SaaS implementations. Strongly validated Applied AI Society concept as "very relevant." Offered to speak at events and help train GTM engineers. Shared insights: "AI is not a one-time done deal... it's a constant cycle" and importance of context for AI accuracy. Discussed hiring practices - still needs juniors but with higher skills; shared Meta paying $100M package for top AI talent. Philosophy: "My mind is always mining. It never rests." Employs mostly female students from UT/ACC ($16-17/hour), learned guys are "harder to manage." Invited Gary to work from the shop anytime (free wifi, open till 9pm).

Transcripts​

transcript-iddateone-line-summary
2025-04-18-final-conversations-alpha-school2025-04-18Alpha School tour and discussions with Gary, engineering team, and guides
2025-04-18-late-afternoon-conversations-alpha-school2025-04-18Late afternoon conversations and introductions at Alpha School
2025-12-09-gary-mahaveer-quanticontext-applied-ai-validation2025-12-09QuantiContext startup discussion and Applied AI Society validation meeting
2025-04-18-alpha-school-tour-with-carson2025-04-18Campus tour explaining educational philosophy and introducing engineering team