Shaun Modi
| Shaun Modi | |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, designer, software executive |
|---|---|
| Known for | Founder and CEO of Capitol AI |
| Education | Rhode Island School of Design (Industrial Design, 2007) |
Shaun Modi is an American entrepreneur, designer, and technology executive. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Capitol AI, an enterprise artificial intelligence company building what it describes as a "sovereign operating system for intelligence" for regulated, high-stakes institutions.[1] Capitol AI participated in Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch.
Early life and education
Modi's parents were both designers. His grandfather served as the former Executive Officer of the President's Science Advisory Committee.[2] Modi studied industrial design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), graduating in 2007. He began coding as a teenager and started his first small business before finishing high school.
Career
Early in his career, Modi worked as a designer at Google. He subsequently joined Airbnb as a designer during the company's early stages; a 2022 podcast appearance described him as a "founding designer" at Airbnb. In 2013, Business Insider named him number 33 on its list of the top 75 designers in technology. Modi also co-founded the design and innovation group TM, through which he was involved in launching over 55 products.
In 2014, Modi became chief creative officer at Jelly, a mobile search startup co-founded by Biz Stone, a co-founder of Twitter. Modi has also worked with NASA and within government environments focused on technology and design.
In January 2021, Modi authored an article in Wired advocating for greater federal investment in digital design and the creation of a federal chief experience officer.
Modi founded Capitol AI, initially focused on helping healthcare insurers make data-driven decisions. In November 2022, the company raised $10 million in a seed funding round. The company later pivoted to a broader enterprise AI platform and was accepted into Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch.
Capitol AI is designed for professional services firms, financial services companies, publishers, and government agencies. The platform runs entirely within an enterprise's own infrastructure, with no data leaving the client's environment. It transforms proprietary data into structured outputs such as due diligence reports, regulatory documentation, and executive intelligence briefings. The platform is model-agnostic, meaning it is not dependent on any single AI model, and produces fully auditable results.[3] In March 2025, Politico announced its Policy Intelligence Assistant, an AI-powered suite for policy professionals, developed in partnership with Capitol AI.
In February 2026, Capitol AI appointed Chester Leung as Vice President of Engineering to lead work on enterprise trust, security, and governance.
References
- ↑ "Capitol AI – Y Combinator". 'Y Combinator}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Capitol AI: Interview With Founder & CEO Shaun Modi About Turning Enterprise Data Into Decision-Grade Intelligence". 'Pulse 2.0}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Capitol AI – The Sovereign Operating System for Intelligence". 'Capitol AI}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.