Turja Chowdhury
| Turja Chowdhury | |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, software engineer |
|---|---|
| Known for | Co-founder and CTO of Village Labs |
Turja Chowdhury is a Canadian-American entrepreneur and software engineer who is the co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) of Village Labs, a fintech and human resources startup that builds AI-powered software to help American businesses transition to employee ownership through Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Village Labs was part of the Y Combinator Summer 2024 batch.[1]
Early life and education
Chowdhury grew up in Toronto, Canada. He attended the University of California, San Diego.[2] Prior to founding Village Labs, he worked in roles spanning banking, blockchain, venture capital, and consulting.
Career
Chowdhury co-founded Village Labs in 2023 alongside Roger Cawdette. The company is headquartered in New York City.[1]
Village Labs develops AI-native software tools for ESOP administration and advisory firms. ESOPs are federally regulated retirement plans that allow businesses to transfer ownership stakes to their employees, providing tax benefits to owners and wealth-building opportunities for workers. The company positions its products within the context of a demographic trend sometimes referred to as the "Silver Tsunami" — the anticipated retirement of approximately 2.9 million Baby Boomer business owners in the coming years, many of whom are seeking succession plans for their companies.
The company's flagship product, Peninsula, is an AI platform designed for ESOP advisory firms. It enables users to build and deploy AI agents that handle complex and repetitive administrative workflows related to ERISA compliance, repurchase forecasting, and client management. Village Labs also offers repurchase forecasting tools with scenario analysis capabilities and an AI advisory service that provides implementation support for firms integrating AI into their ESOP practices. The company states that its products maintain SOC 2 Type II compliance, AES-256 encryption, and a zero-retention data policy.[3]
According to Village Labs, existing ESOPs at companies such as Bob's Red Mill, Harpoon Brewery, and Recology already benefit over 14 million workers and have generated approximately $2.1 trillion in employee wealth. The company aims to expand these figures by reducing the complexity and cost of ESOP establishment and administration through its software platform.
Chowdhury currently resides in New York City. He has expressed interests in design engineering, predictive history, and AI agents.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Village Labs – Y Combinator". 'Y Combinator}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Turja Chowdhury – Crunchbase". 'Crunchbase}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
- ↑ "Village Labs". 'Village Labs}'. Retrieved 2026-03-18.