AI21 Labs Appoints Former Google and Databricks Exec, Pankaj Dugar, as SVP GTM and GM of North America

The company has named the former Databrick VP to lead its expansion to North America, focusing on nurturing the already strong partnerships with big names in the US.

AI21 Labs, a leader in generative AI and Large Language Models, announced the appointment of Pankaj Dugar as the Senior Vice President GTM and General Manager North America. In his role, Dugar will lead the company’s continued expansion into the enterprise market for generative AI technology, with a focus on building new relationships for AI21 Labs with US-based Fortune 500 companies. He brings over a decade of experience in executive corporate strategy and leadership at top technology companies, including previous roles at Databricks, Google, and Hewlett-Packard.

Large enterprises in the US have shown increasing interest in AI21 Labs’ easily-integratable LLM-based solutions, which include both developer tools for constructing NLP applications and end-user tools for reading and writing via Wordtune. Combined with its already strong existing US partnerships and the large total addressable market for generative AI, the company is prepared to move forward and expand in the US.

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Dugar has a stellar track record of success. At Databricks, he built the product and data provider partnerships organization from the ground up delivering over 100 successful partnerships contributing significantly to Databricks revenue and was deeply involved in several product launches including Partner Connect and GCP launch. At Google, Dugar was responsible for the largest, most strategic technology partnerships including with SAP and Salesforce. He received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

“I have witnessed the generative AI boom and seen many companies looking to embrace the new technology. AI21 Labs products have been consistently impressive and ahead of the curve. With AI21 Labs customers have a true partner in AI,” said Dugar. “I am excited to be tasked with building out AI21 Labs’ US presence, including its direct sales, partnerships, and marketing efforts. I am looking forward to helping our customers and partners harness the power of generative AI using state-of-the-art large language models.”

“In a time where many people are concerned about AI accuracy when it comes to products and LLMs, we have recently released a variety of new enterprise and professional products that have proven their reliability time and time again,” said Ori Goshen, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of AI21 Labs. “As we continue to innovate and provide the best in industry generative AI solutions, we are excited to welcome Pankaj to our team, where he will lead our US expansion and strategic partnerships, allowing us to continue better serving businesses.”

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