Kian Katanforoosh
About Kian Katanforoosh
Kian Katanforoosh is the founder and CEO of Workera, an AI-powered skills assessment platform. He is also an adjunct lecturer in Computer Science at Stanford, where he co-created the Deep Learning course (CS230) with Andrew Ng. He is a founding member of DeepLearning.AI and co-created the Deep Learning Specialization on Coursera.
From 2014 to 2016 he co-founded and co-led Daskit, a French ed-tech startup building in-classroom tools for universities. He holds master's degrees from Stanford and Ecole CentraleSupelec. Workera's investors include NEA, Jump Capital, Owl Ventures and Andrew Ng's AI Fund. In 2025 the World Economic Forum named him a Technology Pioneer.
Since July 2023 he has been a scout for Sequoia Capital. His LinkedIn profile says he supports and invests in early-stage founders building AI applications, and invites founders to reach out there.
In September 2026 he was listed among the angel investors in Aristotle's seed round. Crunchbase also lists him as an investor in that round. Public sources do not give his check sizes or a full list of angel investments.
His LinkedIn lists these recent investments: Island, Tahoe Therapeutics, a2z radiology, Arda Technologies (stealth), Pruna AI and Finto AI, "and more". It gives no investment dates for them.
Aristotle is a voice-first AI tutoring platform for students aged 13 to 18. It announced a $5 million seed round on September 16, 2026, led by True Ventures with Wicklow Capital and a group of angels. Katanforoosh was named among the angels. His work at Workera and Stanford sits in AI, education and skills measurement.
He describes his focus as early-stage founders building AI applications. His public profiles do not state a check size, a fund size or a geographic focus, so none is listed here. He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Aristotle: voice-first AI tutoring platform for students; $5M seed announced September 2026, led by True Ventures.
- Island: listed on his LinkedIn as a recent investment; year not stated.
- Tahoe Therapeutics: listed on his LinkedIn as a recent investment; year not stated.
- a2z radiology: listed on his LinkedIn as a recent investment; year not stated.
- Pruna AI: listed on his LinkedIn as a recent investment; year not stated.
- Finto AI: listed on his LinkedIn as a recent investment; year not stated.
Investing activity
Kian Katanforoosh appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $5M. The most recent is Aristotle (Seed, $5M, Sep 2026).
Kian Katanforoosh most often invests alongside True Ventures, Ben Broca, Drew Wadsworth and Wicklow Capital, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Kian Katanforoosh
Does Kian Katanforoosh invest in early-stage AI startups?
Yes. His LinkedIn says he supports and invests in early-stage founders building AI applications through his Sequoia Capital scout role, which began in July 2023.
What is Kian Katanforoosh's check size?
He has not made a check size public. We list none rather than guess.
Did Kian Katanforoosh invest in Aristotle?
Yes. He was named among the angel investors in Aristotle's $5M seed round, announced September 16, 2026 and led by True Ventures.
What companies has Kian Katanforoosh built?
He founded and runs Workera, an AI skills assessment platform. He also co-founded the ed-tech startup Daskit in France, which he co-led from 2014 to 2016.
How can founders contact Kian Katanforoosh?
His LinkedIn profile invites founders to reach out there: linkedin.com/in/kiankatan.
Is Kian Katanforoosh an angel investor?
Yes. Kian Katanforoosh invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Kian Katanforoosh invested in?
Kian Katanforoosh's AI investments include Aristotle. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Kian Katanforoosh invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Kian Katanforoosh has invested at Seed, with a median round of $5M.
Who does Kian Katanforoosh co-invest with?
Kian Katanforoosh's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are True Ventures (1 deal), Ben Broca (1 deal), Drew Wadsworth (1 deal), Wicklow Capital (1 deal) and Cognition (1 deal).
How can founders reach Kian Katanforoosh?
Founders on Lounge can see Kian Katanforoosh's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Kian Katanforoosh to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.