Inc. Names Kumo Co-Founder, Dr. Hema Raghavan, to Its 2026 Female Founders 500 List

Dr. Raghavan recognized for her leadership in building enterprise AI solutions at Kumo

Mar. 12, 2026 at 8:19pm

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Kumo, an AI company founded in 2021, announced that its Co-Founder and Head of Engineering, Dr. Hema Raghavan, has been named to Inc.'s 2026 Female Founders 500 list. The annual list honors the most dynamic women business leaders in the United States who are shaping the future of their industries through bold ideas, resilience, and execution.

Why it matters

The Inc. Female Founders 500 list celebrates women entrepreneurs who are driving innovation and making a significant impact in their fields. Dr. Raghavan's inclusion on the list highlights the growing prominence of women in deep tech and AI, and serves as an inspiration for other aspiring female founders and leaders.

The details

Dr. Raghavan co-founded Kumo in 2021 after identifying a gap in enterprise AI, where companies struggled to extract predictive insights from their relational data. Drawing on her experience leading AI at LinkedIn, she developed KumoRFM, the first foundation model built specifically for structured enterprise data. Kumo's platform now operates in production at over 20 enterprises, generating predictions for more than one billion users globally and delivering significant business impact for customers.

  • Kumo was founded in 2021.
  • Dr. Raghavan was named to the Inc. Female Founders 500 list in 2026.

The players

Dr. Hema Raghavan

Co-Founder and Head of Engineering at Kumo, an AI company that develops solutions for enterprise data.

Kumo

An AI company founded in 2021 that develops solutions for extracting predictive insights from enterprise data.

Inc.

A leading media brand and publication that celebrates entrepreneurs and business leaders.

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What they’re saying

“Being named to this list is deeply meaningful to me, not just as a founder, but as a woman in deep tech and as a role model to my children. When I co-founded Kumo, I knew we were working on a hard problem, one that the industry had largely written off as unsolvable. This recognition is a reminder that there is space for women to lead at the frontier of technical innovation, and I hope it encourages others to keep building.”

— Dr. Hema Raghavan, Co-Founder and Head of Engineering, Kumo

“Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list. The honorees on this year's list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they're showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like.”

— Bonny Ghosh, Editorial Director, Inc.

What’s next

The 2026 Inc. Female Founders 500 list will be featured in the Spring print issue of Inc. magazine, which will be available on newsstands on March 17, 2026.

The takeaway

Dr. Raghavan's recognition on the Inc. Female Founders 500 list demonstrates the growing influence and impact of women leaders in the tech industry, particularly in the field of AI. Her success in building an innovative enterprise AI solution at Kumo serves as an inspiration for other aspiring female founders and leaders to pursue their ambitious goals and drive innovation in their respective fields.