Dr. Krishna Dubba on Patents, Platforms, and Product-Led AI
Dr. Krishna Dubba is the Co-Founder and CTO of CoVent, an AI-powered marketplace that simplifies how sponsorships are discovered and evaluated. With over a decade of experience blending AI, machine learning, and product development, he builds practical AI products that solve real business challenges.
Background and Experience
Dr. Dubba co-founded CoVent, which is supported by Founders Factory and Pico. Before this, he led backend ML development for enterprise generative AI products at A20 AI and created an AI-powered wellbeing app called Jeevi AI. His prior roles include leading AI research at Blue Prism, where he helped establish AI Labs, and working at Nokia Bell Labs on explainable AI, emotion modelling, and smart assistants.
He holds nine patents and has published research papers. His AI foundation comes from research fellowships focused on robotics and machine learning at the University of Leeds, alongside early career experience in real-time trading infrastructure at D.E. Shaw.
The Path to AI
Dr. Dubba’s interest in AI began in junior college when he encountered Eliza, the early chatbot that mimicked conversation. The idea of machines engaging in dialogue sparked his curiosity, leading him to pursue computer science and AI academically. He completed a Master’s in AI at the University of Hyderabad and a PhD at the University of Leeds.
Introducing CoVent
CoVent is an all-in-one platform streamlining the event sponsorship process—from discovery and evaluation to contracting and ROI measurement. The idea was inspired by the fragmented experience co-founder Andrew Swisher faced while managing event sponsorships at Meltwater.
Traditional digital marketing channels are losing traction, with AI chat interfaces disrupting search and social platforms seeing declining engagement. In this context, in-person events are gaining importance as professionals seek trusted, face-to-face interactions. CoVent helps brands connect with ideal events efficiently, addressing a growing need for better sponsorship management.
CoVent’s Mission
The goal is to simplify and improve event sponsorships by providing a unified platform that connects brands with the right events and organisers. This helps marketers discover, negotiate, and manage sponsorships with greater ease, while event organisers gain visibility and tools to attract the best sponsors.
AI’s Role in CoVent
AI is deeply embedded in CoVent’s platform. It uses large language models (LLMs) and multi-agent systems to gather and organise data from tens of thousands of events online. This creates a rich, current database of sponsorship opportunities and helps event organisers showcase their events effectively.
The AI recommendation engine matches sponsors with events based on detailed profiles and characteristics, ensuring relevance and impact. Additionally, CoVent monitors digital signals like mentions and trends to provide insights and accurate ROI attribution, turning a manual process into an efficient, data-driven workflow.
Building a Culture That Embraces AI as a Teammate
Dr. Dubba emphasizes cultivating curiosity and removing fear around failure. Viewing AI as a tool to augment human creativity and decision-making—not replace people—is key. This mindset creates a safe space for teams to experiment, learn, and collaborate with AI, treating it as a trusted partner rather than just software.
Challenges and Solutions
Developing AI-powered multi-agent systems has been difficult due to the lack of mature tools and frameworks. The team often creates custom solutions to overcome design and integration hurdles.
Market validation is another challenge. CoVent continually tests whether brands are willing to centralize sponsorship activities and if event organisers adopt the platform. Ensuring that AI-driven recommendations translate to better ROI is critical to aligning the product with real-world needs.
Key Achievements
- Built a database with over 100,000 events through proprietary AI-driven data scraping.
- Developed a precise recommendation engine that matches sponsors and organisers effectively.
- Facilitated hundreds of successful sponsorship negotiations on the platform.
Lessons from Industry Leaders
Experience at Nokia Bell Labs and Blue Prism instilled a scientific mindset focused on experimentation and learning from failures. This approach supports rapid iteration and efficient product development.
Dr. Dubba stresses the importance of embedding advanced AI technologies, like LLMs and multi-agent systems, at the core of products to deliver meaningful differentiation. Equally important is balancing innovation with reliability and scalability for enterprise customers.
Looking Ahead
The focus for the next year is on refining the user experience to remove friction in the sponsorship workflow, from discovery to contract management. The team is also enhancing ROI reporting to deliver clearer, actionable insights.
On the technology front, CoVent is exploring Causal AI to help sponsors evaluate direct impacts of their investments. This will allow scenario testing—adjusting budgets or event types—and seeing predicted outcomes for smarter planning.
Future Perspective
Dr. Dubba recognizes AI’s ongoing evolution and its potential for both opportunity and disruption. He believes startups play a vital role in driving change and stresses the need for foresight, responsible application, and using AI advancements for the broader benefit of society.
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