Pinecone Pioneers
Pinecone Pioneers are builders, educators, and collaborators who show what it takes to build knowledgeable AI with Pinecone. They share what they’ve learned through blog posts, demos, or talks. They lead conversations, spark new ideas, and help shape what Pinecone becomes through thoughtful feedback and real-world use. Whether they’re writing code, creating content, or offering fresh perspective, Pioneers play a visible role in the community, and Pinecone helps amplify their voices. If that sounds like you—or like the kind of impact you want to make—we’d love to hear from you.
What Pioneers Do
Build
Create tools, demos, examples
Share
Write or speak to help others understand
Support
Offer guidance, feedback, or encouragement
What’s Included
Early access to select features
Custom swag (sent annually)
Plaque for standout contributors
Private channel access
Optional profile on site
Thought leadership support, including up to $500 travel to events
2025 Cohort
Daniel Morris
I'm a Natural Language Processing Engineer and Solutions Architect experienced in building and deploying large-scale ML models through industry work (startups to Fortune 100) and academic partnerships. I specialize currently in RAG systems and ML frameworks, with deep expertise in orchestrating complex data pipelines and system engineering for enterprise-scale datasets. My work spans the complete lifecycle - from research and training through to production deployment and business outcomes.
Joined 2025
Tomo Kanazawa
I’m a data scientist with a background in Physics and Computer Science, and the creator of OneNode — an open-source, multi-modal semantic search framework.
Joined 2025
Joseph Petty
Nuclear plant operator, turned freelancer, turned developer advocate. Founder/lead developer @ Greenflux, LLC. Head of developer relations @Appsmith
Joined 2025
Kaya Jones
I'm a recent computer science graduate from Illinois Tech and run Forever22, a software agency that builds AI solutions for company workflows. I love solving high-quality problems, building community, and cheering for the WNBA—I used to play college basketball. Go Chicago Sky!
Joined 2025
Mark Evans
I'm the founder of Proving Ground, a pre-accelerator sprint program helping enterprise engineers and startup founders build AI-native startups. I’ve run some of the earliest agentic hackathons, with projects now backed by 500 Global and other investors. Passionate about turning real technical talent into real companies.
Joined 2025
Kalan Peace
Blending my two passions of fashion and tech to create something truly special
Joined 2025
Shubham Pawar
I’m a machine learning researcher with a focus on real-world applications of large language models, recommendation systems, and cultural AI. I currently lead LLM research at Qloo, where I work on making personalization more human and context-aware.
Joined 2025
Mark Kashef
Mark Kashef is the CEO of Prompt Advisers and a leading educator on applying business-ready AI. He specializes in automation, vector search, RAG, and building real-world AI agents—helping organizations and individuals unlock the value of cutting-edge technology. Mark's YouTube channel features hands-on tutorials, practical frameworks, and AI innovation insights.
Joined 2025
Apurva Misra
Apurva Misra is an AI Consultant at Sentick, focusing on assisting startups with their AI strategy and building solutions. Apurva helps startups and mid-size companies start integrating AI and develop tailored solutions that align with their business goals. She is also a speaker, regularly presenting at conferences and online events about AI applications, strategy, and innovation. Passionate about democratizing education, Apurva shares her knowledge widely to make AI more accessible to everyone. Outside of work, she is learning Spanish and loves discovering hidden gem eateries!
Joined 2025
Join the Program
Join the waitlist, or tell us about someone you think we should know.