Saturday, April 15, 2017

Pakistani-American's Tech Unicorn Files For IPO at $1.6 Billion Valuation

Washington D.C. based AI technology firm Afiniti, founded by serial Pakistani-American entrepreneur Zia Chishti, has filed for initial public offering (IPO) at $1.6 billion valuation, according to VentureBeat.

Zia Chishti founded his first company Align Technology in 1997 in Silicon Valley. It creates clear plastic braces for straightening teeth by using advanced 3-D computer imaging. The technology now trademarked as Invisalign has helped millions of people straighten their teeth for a beautiful smile without enduring the pain and unsightly looks of the traditional steel brackets and wires used in orthodontics. Align Technology is now valued at $10 billion.

Afiniti:

Afiniti uses artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to enable real-time, optimized pairing of individual call center agents with individual customers in large enterprises for best results. When a customer contacts a call center, Afiniti matches his or her phone number with any information related to it from up to 100 databases, according to VentureBeat. These databases carry purchase history, income, credit history, social media profiles and other demographic information. Based on this information, Afiniti routes the call directly to an agent who has been determined, based on their own history, to be most effective in closing deals with customers who have similar characteristics.

Investors in Afiniti's latest round include GAM; McKinsey and Co; the Resource Group (TRG); G3 investments (run by Richard Gephardt); Elisabeth Murdoch; Sylvain Héfès; John Browne, former CEO of BP; Ivan Seidenfeld; and Larry Babbio, a former president of Verizon. The company has now raised more than $100 million, including the money previously raised, according to VentureBeat's sources.

Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth
Align Technology:

After graduating from Stanford Business School, Chishti wore braces when working as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. When his braces were removed he wore a clear plastic retainer. He noticed that when he did not wear the retainer for several days his teeth would move. However, putting the retainer back on helped bring his teeth to their desired, straightened state. It was this observation that a clear plastic device was capable of moving his own teeth that led to Chishti to conceive a process that became the Invisalign System.

Out-of-the-Box Thinking:

A background in computer science gave Chishti the insight that it was possible to design and manufacture an entire series of clear orthodontic devices similar to the retainer he wore, using 3- D computer graphics technology to straighten teeth. He and his co-founder Kelsey Wirth started Align Technology in 1997 to realize this vision. The process has now evolved to make extensive use of 3D printing for creating a series of braces to apply gentle pressure to straighten teeth over several months. In 2012 alone, the company printed 17 million transparent dental braces for patients.

Afiniti Target:

Afiniti has deployed over 150 programs for some of the world’s largest businesses, according to the company website.  The company says "we work with some of the biggest global brands across a wide range of sectors, including Airlines, Financial Services, Hospitality, Insurance, Politics, Retail, Satellite TV, Social Media, Telecommunications, and Utilities".

Big Names Board:

The company's board of directors includes heavyweights such as former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar,  former US Treasury Secretary John Snow, Shine Group’s founder and former Chairman Elisabeth Murdoch and Ivan Seidenberg, the former chief executive officer of Verizon Communications Inc.

Summary:

Zia Chishti is a serial entrepreneur of Pakistani origin. Prior to Afiniti, he founded or cofounded Align Technology, OrthoClear and The Resource Group (TRG). Afiniti, Zia's latest venture, has filed for IPO to raise additional funds at $1.6 billion valuation.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Pakistani Brothers Spawned $20 Billion Security Software Industry

Pakistani-American Ashar Aziz's Fireeye Goes Public

Pakistani-American Pioneered 3D Technology in Orthodontics

Pakistani-Americans Enabling 2nd Machine Revolution

Pakistani-American Shahid Khan Richest South Asian in America

Two Pakistani-American Silicon Valley Techs Among Top 5 VC Deals

Pakistani-American's Game-Changing Vision 

Minorities Are Majority in Silicon Valley 


7 comments:

Hamid S. said...

This is not the first time that Zia Chisti has done something like this..a great mind coupled with a great team has resulted in this..

Amer S. said...

Isn't Careem in that league too ?

Monis R. said...

Amer: "Isn't Careem in that league too ?"

Well yes I suppose. But Afiniti is fully homegrown though with all founders from Pakistan and initial call center operations which inspired the software development again all in Pakistan.

masadi said...

Riaz hack WW Pak Alumni, how goes man? Long time no hear, this is your old friend from chowk, the badshah masadi, still unemployed and still resisting. You still polishing musharraf's butt and throwing out stats you don't understand. Come on man, give it up. Trump was good but turned, the MIC won, he bombed Syria the asshole based on the CIA's fake chemical attack, and what about Flint Michigan, which country should bomb the US because of chemical poisoning of the black community, huh WW?? Lay it out man, don't be afraid that the FBI might arrest you for speaking truth to power...and most of all don't f'ing censor my comments. Have a nice day...and do some exercise goddamit.

Riaz Haq said...

OPEN (Organization of Pakistani-American Entrepreneurs) in Silicon Valley recently congratulated Ahmed Khaishgi for one of the biggest M&A wins ever for a Pakistani American entrepreneur.

https://www.facebook.com/opensiliconvalley/posts/1454432157919712

Ahmaed Khaishgi is the CEO of SquareTrade acquired by AllState for $1.4 billion.

Allstate Non-Insurance Holdings Inc., the insurance broker subsidiary of Allstate Corp. ALL, -0.52% said late Monday it has agreed to buy SquareTrade Holding Company Inc. for about $1.4 billion in cash and debt. The transaction is expected to close in January. Privately held SquareTrade, based in San Francisco and London, is a provider of extended warranty plans for electronics and gadgets. Shares of Allstate fell 0.2% in the extended session after ending the regular trading day down less than 0.1%.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/allstate-unit-to-buy-squaretrade-for-14-billion-2016-11-28

Athar O. said...

National Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) approved, in principle, today by CDWP. This has been Minister Ahsan Iqbal's desire for over a year and a part of Vision 2025.
This will be a Consortuim of 8 Labs across several Universities with 4 computing clusters and its own Competitive Research Fund to be open to All AI Reseachers and Universities (including private Universities).
A unique academic partnership driven by results to aspire for sustainability in 3 years, specific targets about publications, startups, and collaborations. This will become a model of extremely competitive research funding at Universities for the future. Looking for industrial and corporate partners to join the gang and make Pakistan artificially intelligent.

Riaz Haq said...

Afiniti Founder Zia Chishti Ousted After Sexual Assault Allegations


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-18/ai-startup-afiniti-ousts-ceo-after-sexual-assault-allegations

Tatiana Spottiswoode, a former employee, said the 50-year-old Chishti sexually assaulted her during a business trip to Brazil. After accusing the founder of attacking her, he filed for arbitration in order to silence any accusations, she said.

Spottiswoode, the daughter of an Afiniti co-founder, provided photographs of the alleged assault as part of her testimony, saying the encounter was so violent that a nurse who examined her at a hospital said she had signs of concussion. “My body was covered with scratches, cuts and contusions,” Spottiswoode testified. “I had bruises around my neck that looked like I had been strangled, a large bump on my head, a black eye.”

Five former Afiniti employees say the testimony is illustrative of a culture of heavy drinking and drug use at Afiniti. Much of the partying took place during business trips to far-flung locales such as Dubai and Brazil where female employees in their early 20s were encouraged to socialize with senior executives, the people said, asking not to be named for fear of retaliation from Chishti.

Spottiswoode described a visit to Dubai in 2016, where she said Chishti groped her in front of co-workers and assaulted a colleague. She said Afiniti reached a settlement with the other young woman that barred her from discussing any details of the assault or any compensation -- a detail that was confirmed to Bloomberg by two former employees of Afiniti.

“The Board of Directors of Afiniti announces that Mr. Zia Chishti has stepped down from his role as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Afiniti, effective immediately,” the company said in a statement. “The Board will make additional organizational announcements in the coming days.”