Daniela Braga

Pioneer of Ethical AI Training Data and Crowdsourcing

Dr. Daniela Braga stands as one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in artificial intelligence, having built Defined.ai (formerly DefinedCrowd) into the world’s largest ethical AI training data marketplace.

With over two decades of experience spanning linguistics, speech technology, and AI entrepreneurship, she has raised more than $80 million in venture capital, making her the female founder in generative AI who has raised the most capital globally.

The first challenge is fundraising. Women tend to ask for less and are often perceived as less confident, so they receive less money. The second challenge is getting access to the right network. We don’t have the same access to male-dominated networks like the VCs.”

Professional Background and Current Leadership

Dr. Daniela Braga is the Founder and CEO of Defined.ai, which she established in 2015 in Seattle, Washington. Under her leadership, the company has grown from a startup to the world’s largest marketplace for ethically sourced training data for AI, serving Fortune 500 companies including BMW, Mastercard, IBM, and Amazon.

The platform combines machine learning technology with human intelligence to deliver quality-guaranteed training data for AI systems across more than 50 languages. Defined.ai’s unique approach leverages a global community of contributors to provide high-quality, project-specific training data that enables AI products to reach market faster while maintaining ethical standards and data privacy.

Educational Excellence and Academic Foundation

Dr. Braga’s interdisciplinary academic background uniquely positions her at the intersection of linguistics, technology, and AI:

Linguistic and Literary Foundation:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Portuguese Language and Literature from the University of Porto, Portugal
  • Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Minho, Portugal

Technical Specialization:

  • PhD in Speech Technology from the University of A Coruña, Spain (2005-2008)
  • Author of more than 90 scientific papers and holder of several patents
  • Cited by nearly 1,000 researchers in her field

This rare combination of linguistic expertise and technical proficiency has proven essential in developing AI systems that understand and process human language across diverse populations and cultures.

Career Trajectory: From Academia to Industry Leadership

Academic and Research Foundation (2001-2012)

Dr. Braga began her career as a researcher at the University of Porto in 2001, establishing a strong foundation in speech technology and natural language processing. Her academic work focused on making speech recognition systems more accurate and accessible across different languages and dialects.

Microsoft Experience (2006-2013)

She spent almost seven years at Microsoft in multiple program manager roles across three countries, including her native Portugal. During her tenure, she was instrumental in creating Cortana, Microsoft’s virtual assistant, and worked on text-to-speech technologies that would later influence Windows operating systems. Her international experience at Microsoft gave her deep insights into scaling AI technologies globally.

VoiceBox Technologies (2013-2015)

As Data and Engineering Manager and Senior Speech Scientist at VoiceBox Technologies in Bellevue, Washington, she introduced crowdsourcing approaches to big data solutions and formed the company’s Data Science team. This experience directly informed her vision for democratizing AI training data through crowdsourcing.

Guest Lecturer at University of Washington (2014)

Throughout her industry career, she maintained academic connections, serving as a guest lecturer at the University of Washington, sharing her expertise with the next generation of AI researchers.

Founding Defined.ai: A Revolutionary Vision

In 2015, Dr. Braga founded DefinedCrowd (later rebranded as Defined.ai) with a mission to democratize access to high-quality training data for AI systems. She recognized that the success of AI depends fundamentally on the quality and diversity of training data, yet most companies lacked access to the resources needed to collect and curate such data effectively.

Innovative Business Model

The company’s platform operates as a marketplace where:

  • Companies can access pre-built datasets or commission custom data collection projects
  • Global contributors can participate in data annotation and collection tasks, earning compensation
  • AI developers can buy, sell, or commission off-the-shelf or custom-ordered AI data, tools, and models

Ethical AI Leadership

From the beginning, Dr. Braga positioned Defined.ai as a champion of ethical AI, ensuring that:

  • Training data is collected with proper consent and compensation
  • Datasets represent diverse populations to reduce bias
  • Data privacy and security standards exceed industry requirements
  • Contributors are fairly compensated for their work

Record-Breaking Funding Success

Dr. Braga has achieved unprecedented success in fundraising for an AI company founded by a woman:

Series B Breakthrough (2020)

  • $50.5 million Series B – the largest Series B round ever raised by a female-founded AI company in the United States at the time
  • Investors included Semapa Next, Hermes GPE, Evolution Equity Partners, Amazon Alexa Fund, Sony Innovation Fund, and Mastercard
  • This funding enabled the company to double its workforce and expand globally

Total Capital Raised

  • Over $80 million in total funding across multiple rounds
  • Seed funding included investments from Sony, Amazon Alexa Fund, Portugal Ventures, and Busy Angels
  • Series A of $11.8 million led by Evolution Equity Partners

Strategic Partnerships

The company has established key partnerships with:

  • Amazon Alexa Skills partnership for voice technology integration
  • IBM Watson Studio product integration
  • Microsoft co-sell program designation as featured vendor

Global Recognition and Awards

Dr. Braga’s leadership and innovation have earned numerous prestigious recognitions:

Entrepreneurial Excellence

  • Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 (João Vasconcelos Award)
  • Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 Pacific Northwest finalist
  • Goldman Sachs recognition for entrepreneurial achievement

Industry Recognition

  • World Economic Forum Expert Network member, advising on AI policy
  • CB Insights ‘100 Most Promising AI Startups’ recognition for Defined.ai
  • Forbes AI 50, Deloitte Fast 100, and Inc. 500 listings for the company

Policy and Advisory Roles

  • U.S. National AI Research Resource Task Force member appointed by President Biden (2021)
  • Portuguese Diaspora Council counselor (2022-present)
  • Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) non-executive board member (2024-present)

International Speaking and Thought Leadership

Dr. Braga is a sought-after speaker on AI, data ethics, and entrepreneurship:

United Nations Engagement

In May 2024, she delivered a keynote speech at the 9th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations Trusteeship Council Chamber, calling for actionable measures to align AI development with sustainable development goals.

Global Conference Circuit

  • Consumer Electronics Show (CES) – Featured speaker on AI trust and verification
  • World Economic Forum events as Expert Network member
  • Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) member and speaker

Media Presence

Her insights have been featured in major publications and she regularly speaks at international conferences on topics including ethical AI, crowdsourcing, and female entrepreneurship in technology.

What Women in the Field Can Learn from Daniela Braga

1. Leverage Interdisciplinary Expertise

Dr. Braga’s success stems from combining linguistic knowledge with technical expertise. Her background in Portuguese literature and applied linguistics provided crucial insights for developing speech technologies that work across languages and cultures. Women can strengthen their AI careers by building expertise that bridges multiple domains.

2. Identify and Address Market Gaps

She recognized that the AI industry’s rapid growth was creating a massive need for high-quality training data that most companies couldn’t fulfill internally. Women can build successful companies by identifying fundamental infrastructure needs in emerging technologies.

3. Build Ethical Considerations into Business Models

From day one, Defined.ai positioned ethical data collection as a competitive advantage rather than a compliance burden. Women can differentiate themselves by making ethics central to their business strategy rather than an afterthought.

4. Scale Through Community Building

The crowdsourcing model creates a global community of contributors who have stake in the company’s success. Women can leverage community-building skills to create scalable business models that benefit multiple stakeholders.

5. Maintain Academic Connections While Building Industry Success

Her role as guest lecturer and publication of 90+ scientific papers kept her connected to cutting-edge research while building a commercial enterprise. Women can enhance their credibility and stay current by maintaining academic involvement.

6. Navigate International Markets and Regulations

With offices in Seattle, Lisbon, and Porto, Dr. Braga built a truly global company. Her multilingual abilities and international experience enabled expansion across different regulatory environments. Women can build competitive advantages through international expertise.

7. Raise Capital by Demonstrating Clear Value Propositions

Her record-breaking Series B success came from demonstrating strong revenue growth with existing Fortune 500 clients and clear expansion plans. Women can improve funding outcomes by focusing on proven traction and scalable business models.

8. Combine Technical Innovation with Policy Engagement

Her appointment to the Biden administration’s AI task force demonstrates how technical expertise can translate into policy influence. Women can amplify their impact by engaging with policy-making processes.

9. Build Sustainable Competitive Advantages

The community-driven approach to data collection creates network effects that become stronger as the platform grows. Women should focus on business models that become more valuable over time rather than easily replicable services.

10. Champion Diversity Through Business Impact

By ensuring training data represents diverse populations, Defined.ai helps create less biased AI systems while building a profitable business. Women can advance diversity goals through commercial success rather than just advocacy.

Professional Profiles:

Company Information:

Recognition and Coverage:

Recent Speaking Engagements:

  • UN STI Forum Speech (2024): Available through Defined.ai press releases
  • Various conference appearances and interviews through industry publications

Technical Contributions and Patents

Dr. Braga’s technical contributions span speech technology, natural language processing, and crowdsourcing methodologies:

  • 90+ Scientific Papers on speech technology, machine learning, and AI data collection
  • Multiple Patents in speech recognition and text-to-speech technologies
  • Pioneering Work in crowdsourcing applications for AI training data
  • ISO 27001 Certification leadership for data security and privacy standards

Vision for Ethical AI

Dr. Braga advocates for AI development that prioritizes:

Inclusive Data Collection

Ensuring training datasets represent diverse populations, languages, and use cases to prevent biased AI systems that exclude or discriminate against certain groups.

Fair Compensation Models

Creating economic opportunities for contributors worldwide while ensuring fair compensation for data collection work, challenging the traditional “free labor” approach of many AI companies.

Implementing clear consent processes and transparency in how data is collected, used, and shared, setting new industry standards for ethical data practices.

Global Collaboration

Building systems that enable global participation in AI development while respecting local laws, cultures, and privacy requirements across different regions.

Industry Impact and Legacy

Dr. Braga’s work has fundamentally changed how AI companies approach training data:

Market Transformation

  • Defined.ai has grown the market for ethical AI training data from essentially zero to hundreds of millions of dollars
  • Established new standards for data quality, privacy, and contributor compensation
  • Demonstrated that ethical data practices can be commercially successful

Industry Standards

  • Her advocacy for ethical data collection has influenced industry practices beyond her own company
  • Participation in policy development helps shape regulatory frameworks for AI data use
  • Speaking at international forums raises awareness about the importance of diverse, ethical training data

Female Entrepreneurship

  • Record-breaking funding success demonstrates that female-founded AI companies can achieve massive scale
  • Mentorship and speaking activities inspire other women to pursue AI entrepreneurship
  • Active participation in organizations like YPO and WEF provides platforms for advocating for female leadership

Future Vision and Continuing Impact

Dr. Braga continues to expand Defined.ai’s global reach while advocating for responsible AI development. Her recent UN speech emphasized the need to align AI development with sustainable development goals, demonstrating her commitment to ensuring AI benefits all of humanity.

Her work addresses fundamental challenges in AI development: the need for diverse, high-quality training data that enables AI systems to work fairly and effectively for all users. By building a sustainable business model around ethical data collection, she has shown that doing good and doing well can be mutually reinforcing.

For women in machine learning, Dr. Braga’s career demonstrates that success comes from identifying fundamental needs, building ethical solutions, and scaling globally while maintaining values. Her interdisciplinary approach, international perspective, and commitment to ethics provide a template for building impactful careers in AI.

Dr. Daniela Braga’s journey from linguistics researcher to leading AI entrepreneur illustrates how interdisciplinary expertise, ethical leadership, and global perspective can create transformational companies that advance both commercial success and social good.