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Sophia Velastegui is an American inventor and engineer specializing in artificial intelligence. She is currently serving as Chief Technology Officer of Artificial Intelligences for Dynamics 365 Applications at Microsoft. Velastegui also sits on the Board of Directors at Blackline (software company). and the advisory boards of Georgia Institute of Technology College of Engineering as well as the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council. Velastegui is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Career
Sophia Velastegui has gained experience working for a number of companies in the technology industry. After working as an engineer from 2000 to 2009, including a stint with Applied Materials, she spent five years working at Apple Inc., where she was responsible for Platform Architecture “Think Tank” Program, related to AI and machine learning for Apple’s technology platforms. Following this experience, she worked at Google Nest, an Alphabet subsidiary devoted to developing Smart Home technology, where she was in charge of the roadmap control and management. In 2017, she was taken on as Chief Product Officer by Doppler Labs, a Silicon Valley startup firm, where she led engineering team working on machine learning algorithms to enhance sound in company devices. Shortly after Doppler Labs, Velastegui became General Manager for AI Products and Search at Microsoft, transitioning into her current role of CTO of AI at Dynamics 365 in early 2020. During Velastegui’s tenure, Microsoft has increased its profile in the AI field, and “has integrated it into several products already, including Microsoft Translator and Microsoft's Cortana digital assistant, as well as offering it as a feature in its cloud services.” Since March 2020, Velastegui has served on the Board of Directors of BlackLine Inc, an automated accounting software company.

Community involvement and other activities
Velastegui has been noted for increasing diversity in the tech industry, which she does in part by “organizing panels focused on empowering women in tech and speaking at conferences.” As Velastegui states in a 2018 interview with Hult International Business School, ““Underrepresented individuals must get involved and every one of us can do something about it. It is critical that women get involved. We are 50% of the population.” In addition to her contributions to the American technology industry, Velastegui served in 2017 as an innovation advisor to then-candidate Moon Jae-In in his bid for the presidency of South Korea. Velastegui’s contribution – a campaign pledge to support small business – has been cited as a contributing factor to his success in the election that year. Velastegui has also served on the board of Elwyn.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing services for adults and children with disabilities. She also sat on the board of George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at in the past.

In 2017, Velastegui was noted by Business Insider for her work as head of silicon/product architecture roadmap at Alphabet’s Nest, and again in 2018 for her contribution to Microsoft’s efforts in AI. In April 2018, she was inducted into the Georgia Tech College of Engineering Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni, in recognition of her contributions to the technology and engineering fields.

Patents
Velastegui is listed as a co-inventor on three patents assigned to Applied Materials, the semiconductor firm for which she worked from 2000 to 2007.


 * Substrate heater assembly. Substrate heater assembly - allowed radial temperature control to determine semiconductor processing deposition rate based on chemistry and gas flows. This also allowed a uniform chemical deposition rate to support smaller aspect ratios.
 * Apparatus for reducing entrapment of foreign matter along a moveable shaft of a substrate support. In an extremely low particulate environment of chemical vapor deposition processing, the invention provided a method to maintain the pristine particulate-free environment for the varying moving components.
 * Processing Chamber with Heated Chamber Liner An adaptive heating element chamber liner that allowed for optimal temperature for the various chemical vapor deposition processes to ensure process stability and reduced particle generation and process interruption.