AI People Wiki
Portrait of Francis deSouza
Photo: CDBeckwith, CC BY-SA 4.0. Credit

Builders & open source

Francis deSouza

Chief Executive Officer (effective August 10, 2026), Scale AI

  • Chief Executive Officer (effective August 10, 2026), Scale AI12

Francis deSouza is the Chief Executive Officer of Scale AI, appointed by its board effective August 10, 2026. Before Scale, deSouza was Chief Operating Officer and President of Security Products at Google Cloud, and earlier President and CEO of Illumina, which deSouza joined as President in 2013. Earlier in deSouza's career, deSouza was President of Products and Services at Symantec and founded two companies that were acquired by Microsoft and Symantec.123

At a glance

Current role
Chief Executive Officer (effective August 10, 2026)
Company
Scale AI
Sector
Company
Work listed
1
Sources cited
3
Profile reviewed

Career

Early in deSouza's career, deSouza founded two companies, which were acquired by Microsoft and Symantec, and later served as President of Products and Services at Symantec.1

deSouza joined Illumina, the genomics company, as President in 2013, leading its product development, commercial and manufacturing organizations, and became President and CEO in July 2016 while continuing to serve on its board. deSouza later served at Google Cloud as Chief Operating Officer and President of Security Products.31

Scale AI

On July 30, 2026, Scale AI announced that its board had appointed deSouza as Chief Executive Officer effective August 10, 2026, succeeding Jason Droege, who had led the company as interim CEO since June 2025. In the announcement, deSouza named three priorities: bringing Scale's solutions to more businesses and governments, delivering data for AI labs, and demonstrating value through measurable outcomes.1

Work and contributions

  • Scale AI Proprietary product

    Leads Scale AI, whose two core businesses provide data for frontier AI model development and build AI applications for enterprises and governments.1

Timeline

  1. Joined Illumina as President.3
  2. Illumina announced deSouza's appointment as President and CEO.3
  3. Became President and Chief Executive Officer of Illumina.3
  4. Scale AI announced deSouza's appointment as Chief Executive Officer.1
  5. Became Chief Executive Officer of Scale AI.1

Other documented roles

Roles the sources document that are not confirmed as current.

  • Chief Operating Officer and President of Security Products, Google Cloud1
  • President (from 2013), then President and Chief Executive Officer (from July 2016), Illumina31
  • President of Products and Services, Symantec1

Where they work

Suggest a correction or removal

Profiles cover public professional work only, and each statement cites a source. If something is out of date, missing or wrong, tell us and link a source. People can also ask for their profile to be corrected or removed.

References

3 sources · profile reviewed Oct 22, 2026 · data updated Oct 22, 2026

  1. Scale AI Appoints Francis deSouza as CEO to Lead Next Phase of Company's GrowthScale AI · Announcement · published Jul 30, 2026 · accessed Oct 22, 2026
  2. About Scale AIScale AI · Official page · accessed Oct 22, 2026
  3. Jay Flatley to Assume Role of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Illumina; Francis deSouza Appointed President and CEOIllumina · Announcement · published Mar 7, 2016 · accessed Oct 22, 2026