On the Record with Sharon Zhang, CTO at Human AI Labs
Hometown: Beijing, China
Hobby: Rock climbing
Three words to describe yourself: “I have a four-word phrase not counting the @ symbol: Geek @ heart, Artist @ soul.”
About Human AI Labs
Eighty percent of our memories are forgotten, and even less are recalled. Human AI Labs is building Personal AI’s for each individual to augment biological human memory, filling in the gaps where you forget. With their product, you get a structured extension of your memory that’s secure and built just for you, creating an effortless and real-time ambient recall experience.
How would your parents describe you as a child?
Fearless. I used to climb everything. When I was two, I would scale up shelves & the huge fake rocks we had in our yard in China. I was never afraid to fall or hurt myself. I don't have that gene, or whatever you may call it. That is still who I am today.
Hence the natural progression to rock climbing, I take it?
Exactly. Rock climbing is amazing. It is like solving a puzzle with your body and mind. There are all these mental processes, not only in solving the puzzle but in the resilience and having to persevere even after you fall. It is also not reckless courage, it is intentional and practiced.
I bet a lot of those processes overlap with founding a company.
Yes, especially the amount of conviction needed to make each decision or move when there is no guarantee for success. And when you don’t make the right move and fall, you try again. You’re not hurt forever, just the momentarily setback - mentally or physically.
When I am in a tough situation at work, I think of Emily Harrington. It was her goal to free climb El Capitan. When she climbed the Golden Gate route in 2019, she fell and was hospitalized for months. She came back and successfully climbed El Capitan exactly a year later and made history.
When did you decide you wanted to be a ‘woman in tech?
This concept of women in tech was not a topic of conversation in China when I was growing up. I never once thought there were much fewer women in tech or mathematics until I came to the US. Growing up, people would assume that female and male students were equally competent in all fields - including STEM. It was really interesting to come to the US and have that cultural experience.
During my school years, I had amazing Math and Science teachers who were both experts in their fields and incredible human beings. They supported me much more beyond just being my teachers. I don't know which came first, the interest in STEM or their caring ways, but I remember being a Math geek very early on (1st grade). I transitioned into a science geek in middle school when I moved to the States and got exposed to biology, chemistry, and physics. I do have a distinct memory of picking up my parents' book on C++ when I was 12 and was immediately hooked after my first "Hello World" program (C++ is still my first love).
Do you have a mantra?
Absolutely. The mantra I go by is ‘Can I sleep at night?’
In a way I am hyper-competitive and in a way, I am not competitive at all. The thing is, I’ve never really been competitive against other people. When I was younger, if I got the highest grade, I would be unhappy with myself if I was lazy and didn’t study. On the other hand, if I studied extremely hard on an exam and didn’t get good grades, I would be happier than in the former situation. That is how I measure myself.
So, you’ve joined some large companies and done some startup gigs, I’m curious where you’ve struggled or succeeded in different environments.
That is a great question, and I will try not to be biased against one.
My startup journey began early on in my career. My boss from Nuance asked me to join his new hedge fund - it was a tiny high-frequency trading firm, i.e. three people in a basement (it was actually his bright office) coding and doing algorithmic trading. I was much less skilled than David (Partner at Differential, who spent the majority of his career as head of technology at Renaissance Technologies), but somehow my boss at the time trusted me enough to hire me, and I was just ignorant enough to accept the job and traded millions of dollars each day with code when I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.
That last comment helped sum up why you’re not a great fit for big companies.
I’m a very ‘go-go-go type of person. I need a lot of intensity and a fast-paced work environment.
When we were acquired by LinkedIn, most of my work friends enjoyed the free food, gym, 100% 401k match, and the list goes on. For me, there are so many processes involved to get things done, I would have to seek approval for anything - including spinning up an AWS cluster to do a POC. The pace and the impact are the biggest contrast with startups. On the positive side, I did learn the proper way to do automation, documentation, and testing from large companies.
What led you to co-found your own company?
I have always wanted to start a company (since I was 12), I don't know where I got the idea from except for I always wanted to create, to build, and there are just so many problems in the world to solve. The person who constantly reminded me and pushed me towards what I wanted to do was my Dad. He never thought I should lay back and have an easy life, I think he saw through my dreams, ambitions and pushed me to make it come true. He tried to get me to triple major in college, which was not allowed at my school.
What are you most excited about moving forward?
Personally, I am motivated to climb El Capitan & K2.
Professionally, I’m excited to make Personal AIs we are building at Human AI Labs useful and accessible for everyone.
I believe in the potential of technology in changing the lives of people. But the benefits of technology favor some over others - not everyone has the means to access the best technology that will change their lives. I think there are infinite human problems to solve and there is only a finite number of people - so if you can build, build; if you want to create, create. We started Human AI Labs with the mission to touch the lives of as many humans as possible and the vision to bring the benefits of AI to every individual. The other day, my dad signed up for our platform. That was a visceral moment for me. I was like, oh I am building something my parents and grandparents can use. I cannot think of anything else I'd rather do.
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Sharon is deeply passionate about humans and about technologies that evolve alongside us. After pursuing degrees in Biology and Electrical & Computer Engineering from MIT, she spent the past decade building AI and Natural Language Processing products that impact the lives of patients, employees, and everyday people - both at large companies (Nuance, LinkedIn) and start-ups (Human AI Labs is her 5th). She strives to build companies that move the world forward and practice the principles of Authentic AI. She is building personal AIs for individuals to augment human memory and creating an economy for individuals to access their own and others’ AIs.
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