Governing AI for the cultures it actually lands in, not a single global default.
An Iranian-Canadian-American speaker and investor, she advises founders and governments across the Middle East, India, Africa, and Latin America on building AI systems grounded in local values, languages, and law.
Sara Ahmadian holds a B.S. in Computer Science and an M.S. in Information Systems Engineering, and built her early career shipping products and leading engineering teams. She founded and led Seamless Planet, an AI travel concierge that was later acquired, before turning to the policy questions now at the center of her work.
Today she is the founder of Anar Ventures, mentoring founders and building entrepreneurial ecosystems across the Middle East, India, Africa, and Latin America. Her argument is consistent: technology should reflect the values, languages, and traditions of the people it serves, not a single global perspective. She has made that case from Davos to the United Nations and the Raisina Dialogue, sharing platforms with figures including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Carl Bildt, and Eleni Kounalakis.
She is a Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and writes for The Huffington Post. Beyond the stage she co-founded The Laundry, a San Francisco space for art and cultural programming, serves on the board of the Tupac Shakur Foundation, and runs an initiative bringing traditional Persian meals to children for Nowruz.
"India now uses ChatGPT more than the U.S. The question is whose values, and whose framing, get encoded as the default."
Each is tailored to the room, whether briefing diplomats, investors, or a festival audience.
As India and the Global South adopt AI faster than the West, who decides the cultural defaults inside these systems, and how policy can answer.
How nations protect their languages, data, and local industry while still opening to global innovation and trusted collaboration.
Building cross-border governance among allies and emerging economies as AI reshapes the balance of power.
Designing AI cities and national policy around mental health and human flourishing, from Bhutan's Gross National Happiness to the WEF C4IR.
Why the next decade of returns and resilience lies with founders in the Middle East, India, Africa, and Latin America.
Reimagining the bridges where feminine leadership meets scalable innovation, and the policies that fund women founders.
From the United Nations to Dharamshala: convenings, panels, and conversations across the globe.
AI answers and systems should be grounded in the context of each region rather than shaped solely by Western framing. As adoption shifts to the Global South, the stakes of whose worldview is encoded rise sharply.
The cities and systems of the future must be designed not only through hard infrastructure, but by prioritizing mental health, citizen interaction, and human wellbeing.
Nations can protect digital and cultural sovereignty, their languages, data, and local industries, while still embracing innovation and trusted cross-border collaboration.
Emerging technologies and investment in digital ecosystems.
Dual-use space technology, sovereignty, and allied partnership.
In conversation with former Canadian PM Stephen Harper.
A global gathering of artists, thinkers, and explorers.
AI and global governance, alongside PM Narendra Modi.
Designing cities for the intelligent age, with wellbeing at the core.
Policy, cultural perspectives, and indigenous knowledge in AI.
Culturally grounded AI policy; the only American speaker.
Protecting digital sovereignty while embracing innovation.
At the inauguration led by the Queen Mother and Princess of Bhutan.
Supporting Tibetan-language preservation at the Monlam IT Center.
Sustainable land management and agricultural startups for COP17.
Investing across Latin America's innovation ecosystem.
Shaping the future of AI and technology.
Hosting Consuls General of six nations for a policy exchange.
Technology, AI, and the future of sport.
On the front-line effects of a warming planet.
Hosted by the Prime Minister of Armenia; technology policy and women entrepreneurs.
CEOs and scholars on a conscious innovation city rooted in wellbeing.
Global governance and international cooperation, Thabo Mbeki Foundation.
Technology, security, and society.
Recognized among notable Iranian-American entrepreneurs.
Keynotes, fireside conversations, panels, and closed-door policy briefings, worldwide or virtual. She works with conferences, governments, universities, and founder communities.