Kalyani Ramadurgam, an Indian-origin tech professional based in New York, has gained recognition after she made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 United States 2026 list in the finance category after transitioning from a corporate career to co-founding an AI-driven compliance startup.
Ramadurgam studied computer science with a specialisation in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she worked at Apple in a highly sensitive role focused on preventing the misuse of Apple Pay by terrorist organisations. Her responsibilities included ensuring that individuals listed on global terrorism watch lists were blocked from accessing the payment platform, Forbes reported.
During her time at Apple, Ramadurgam noticed a gap between the company’s advanced technology and the way compliance processes were handled. Despite Apple’s sophistication, many systems were slow, heavily manual, and required large teams to review extensive documentation. “Organisations were just throwing bodies at the problem,” she told the magazine.
Ramadurgam also observed that many large financial institutions continued to rely on outdated approaches to document verification, risk assessment, and regulatory compliance. As reported by Forbes, she found that these efficiencies increased operational strain and left companies vulnerable to financial and security risks.
In 2023, Ramadurgam collaborated with former Affirm software engineer Ashi Agrawal to launch Kobalt Labs. The startup develops machine-learning tools designed to automate and speed up compliance reviews for banks and fintech companies, helping them evaluate partners, monitor financial documents, and identify risks more efficiently, the report said.
Ramadurgam has stressed that the technology is meant to support, not replace, human compliance teams by reducing repetitive work and improving accuracy.
Kobalt Labs has raised $13 million to date and works with more than 20 customers, including fintech platform Bilt and Celtic Bank. The company’s mission reflects the challenges Ramadurgam first encountered at Apple, where she worked to protect payment systems from terrorist misuse.
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