Rob Ferguson is the CTO of Microsoft for Startups, ensuring builders get what they need: GPUs to train on, models to build with, and partnerships that bring frontier AI to their fingertips.

Previously the Global Head of AI/ML at AWS, he launched the first GenAI Accelerator and secured partnerships that helped catalyze the GenAI revolution. As a startup CTO, he scaled an AI unicorn’s engineering team 10× and led Automatic Labs to a $115M acquisition by SiriusXM. His infrastructure bets consistently led the market—first Databricks customer, early champion of Weights & Biases and Ray. With 23 years in AI, Rob has shipped products to millions, keynoted globally from the AI Conference to Mobile World Congress, and advanced industry frameworks from MLOps to RAG to agents. Today he uses that experience to help founders avoid the infrastructure pitfalls that derail many AI startups, aligning technology, talent, & partnerships for durable advantage.