Gaurav Banga is at the helm of his own company for the third time with cybersecurity specialist Balbix, having previously founded endpoint security software maker Bromium and mobile instant messaging app PDAapps. Gaurav Banga never intended to start a series of cutting-edge high-tech companies. His latest is Balbix, based in San Jose, California, one of the world's most advanced cybersecurity platforms. "I'm an accidental entrepreneur," he told Startup Savant. "While I was earning my Ph.D. in computer science at Rice University, I had intended to be an academic. But when I started applying for faculty positions, I realized I would be teaching undergraduates without knowing much about their future industry careers. So, I took a sabbatical for a year to work in industry, and I had so much fun, I never went back."

For today's employee spotlight, we interviewed Ramith Padaki, a former Balbix intern and now a full-time Machine Learning Engineer with Balbix. Typically, we'd do this sort of interview in the office, or perhaps during a coffee walk-and-talk, but since we're all still sheltering in place, we decided to do this interview where it's safe…in outer space! Enjoy getting to know Ramith. "I'm a Machine Learning Engineer at Balbix, and I've been here for about eight months or so, but an interesting fact is that I was an intern here last summer. I loved my internship and liked the company and people I got to work with, so I chose to work here full-time. As a machine learning engineer, I improve our machine learning models, specifically, likelihood and threat models, to help them scale to our customers' real-time needs. "I didn't always want to be in the field of machine learning or computer science, or even cybersecurity.

The world is witnessing the biggest man-machine collaboration in its history. As CEO of a company that is playing a key role in this technology revolution, I see a future where artificial intelligence is embedded in every walk of life. AI will revolutionize our lives by bridging the gap between what humans are capable of and what is actually possible. It will penetrate across industries to take over basic tasks from humans, seamlessly interacting with our daily lives. At Tech Mahindra, for example, we have designed and implemented a facial recognition system to check-in employees, thereby eliminating the need of traditional identification cards and other login processes.