Draft:Daniela Braga

Daniela Braga (born April 13, 1978, in Porto) is a Portuguese entrepreneur, especialized in computational linguistics and artificial intelligence. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Defined.ai (formerly DefinedCrowd), a company specializing in AI training data and data services, such ascollection, annotation and evaluation.^[1][2][3]

She is a former member of the White House National Artificial Intelligence Research Task Force (NAIRR), created by the Joe Biden Administration, to support the strategy around the national artificial intelligence research infrastructure strategy, and regularly participates in international forums promoted by the United Nations on artificial intelligence, data, and public policy.^{[4][5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]}

Daniela Braga earned a bachelor’s degree in Portuguese Language and Literature from the University of Porto (1996–2000) and a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Minho (2002–2005).^[15][16]

She later completed a PhD in Speech Technologies at the University of Coruña, Spain (2005–2008), focusing on computational linguistics, natural language processing, and speech synthesis and recognition^[17]

In 2014, she served as a guest lecturer in Computational Linguistics in the master’s program at the University of Washington in the United States^[18]

In 2006, Braga joined Microsoft, where she worked as a Program Manager and later Lead Program Manager until 2013. During this period, she led teams focused on text-to-speech and language expansion and introduced crowdsourcing approaches to AI data collection.^{[19] [20] [21] [22]}

From 2013 to 2015, she worked at VoiceBox Technologies as Director of Data Science and Engineering, developing data collection and annotation frameworks for automatic speech recognition (ASR) and natural language understanding (NLU) systems.^{[23] [24] [25]}

In 2015, Braga founded DefinedCrowd in Seattle, Washington, a company focused on crowdsourced and custom data collection—primarily speech and text—for training artificial intelligence systems. In 2022, the company rebranded as Defined.ai and launched an AI data marketplace offering datasets across multiple modalities, including audio, text, image, video, and multimodal data. Defined.ai also provides services related to artificial intelligence, including data annotation and data and model evaluation. ^{[26] [27] [28]}

Under Braga’s leadership, Defined.ai has raised over $80 million in venture capital, making her one of the most successful female founders in the AI and data‑training sector^[29]

Between 2021 and 2022, Braga was appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden to serve on the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Task Force, a White House advisory group tasked with providing recommendations on national AI research infrastructure.^{[30] [31]}

On an international level, Daniela Braga is often invited to speak at events promoted by the United Nations. In 2024, the UN Daniela Braga to deliver opening remarks at the 9th Multi‑Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (STI Forum), where she spoke about the global AI landscape, ethical AI, and how AI relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).^[32]

In the same year, Braga participated in a forum organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) where she delivered her remarks via hologram, highlighting inclusive AI applications for global agriculture. ^[33]

In Portugal, she has served on the expert monitoring committee for the National Artificial Intelligence Agenda, contributing to discussions on data, talent development, and national competitiveness in artificial intelligence. Her involvement has included oversight of national AI initiatives such as Amália, a large language model for the Portuguese language.^[34][35]

In 2022, Defined.ai was appointed leader of the Accelerat.ai consortium, a €34.5 million initiative funded by Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, aimed at strengthening the country’s competitiveness in data and artificial intelligence. ^[36]

Throughout her career, Daniela Braga has received multiple national and international awards acknowledging her contributions to technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

• 2025

Prémios ACEPI Navegantes XXI – Líderes Digitais (2025) ^[37]

AI Magazine – Top 10 Women in AI (2025) ^[38]

• 2024

Forbes – Most Powerful Women in Portugal (2024) ^[39]

• 2023

Executiva – Executivas do Ano (2023) ^[40]

• 2022

Portuguese Women in Tech – Founder/Co‑Founder Award (2022) ^[41]

Caixa Geral de Depósitos / Expresso Economia – Entrepreneur of the Year (2022) ^[42]

• 2021

Apolitical – Agile 50: World’s 50 Most Influential People Navigating Disruption (2021)^[43]

AmCham Tributes – Person of the Year (2021) ^[44]

Executiva – Most Influential Women in Portugal (2021, 2022, 2024) ^{[45] [46] [47] [48]}

KPMG - Global Tech Innovators (2021) ^[49]

• 2020

EY Entrepreneur of the Year – Pacific Northwest (2020) ^[50]

Inc. Female Founders 100 (2020) ^[51] Activa – Inspiring Women Awards, Business (2020) ^[52]

• 2019

Startup Lisboa – João Vasconcelos Award, Entrepreneur of the Year (2019) ^{[53] [54]}

Under her leadership, Defined.ai has also received industry awards recognizing the company’s innovation and contributions to the AI sector.

• 2023

Deloitte - Technology Fast 50 Portugal: Women in Leadership (2023) ^[55]

Viva Technology – Top 100 Next Unicorns Shaping the Next Gen of Tech (2023) ^[56]

• 2022

IAPMEI – PME Líder (2022) ^[57]

• 2021

UNWTO – Global Startup Competition (2021) ^[58]

Forbes – America’s Best Startup Employers (#69, 2021) ^[59]

• 2020

VentureBeat – AI Innovation Award, Startup Spotlight (2020) ^[60]

Inc. 5000 – #27 Fastest‑Growing Private Company in the U.S. (2020) ^[61]

Deloitte Technology Fast 500 – #27 Fastest‑Growing Company in the Pacific Northwest (2020) ^{[62] [63]}

• 2019

Forbes – AI 50: America’s Most Promising AI Companies (2019) ^[64]

Wired – Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups (2019) ^[65]

CB Insights – AI 100 (2019) ^[66]

• 2018

Wired – Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups (2018) ^[67]

NTT Data Open Innovation – Zamma Award (2018; Singapore) ^[68]

• 2016

Puget Sound Business Journal – Fastest Growing Private Companies (#45) (2016)

Puget Sound Business Journal – Fastest Growing Private Companies, Eastside (#17) (2016) ^[69]