David Shim

David Shim

Co-Founder, CEO at Read AI
United States

David Shim is currently Co-Founder and CEO at Read AI, and serves as Executive Officer and Director at Read AI, Inc. He previously founded eccoBay.com and has held roles in digital marketing and analytics at Avenue A | Razorfish and Farecast.

News 9 Podcasts 6 Videos 6
Sydney Jackson / GeekWire

Tin Can CEO Chet Kittleson and Founders Share Key Startup Lessons at Seattle Flow Day on May 15

At Seattle Flow Startup Day, experienced founders including Tin Can CEO Chet Kittleson shared lessons from their hardships, emphasizing building passionate companies, maintaining emotional stability, hiring capable people, disciplined fundraising, questioning the need for venture capital, and considering acquisition early. Kittleson recounted surviving a disastrous network outage that nearly ended his startup, highlighting resilience and customer-driven growth.

Earley Information Science Guest

Earley AI Podcast - Episode 88: Digital Twins, Agentic AI, and the Future of Work with David Shim

From Meeting Intelligence to Personal AI: How Digital Twins Are Reshaping How We Work Guest: David Shim, Co-Founder and CEO at Read AI Host: Seth Earley, CEO at Earley Information Science Published on: April 27, 2026 In this episode, Seth Earley speaks with David Shim, Co-Founder and CEO of Read AI, the fastest-growing meeting intelligence platform globally with over 5 million monthly active users. They explore how AI is moving beyond summarization toward recommendation and autonomous action, what it really means to build a digital twin grounded in your actual work history, and why the organizations getting the most from…

48 min
AiNews Guest

How AI Is Rewriting the Workweek: David Shim on Productivity & Read AI | The AI Cognitive Shift

Are Mondays becoming easier—and Fridays less frantic—because of AI? In this episode of The AI Cognitive Shift, Alastair Goldfisher sits down with David Shim, CEO and Co-Founder of Read AI, to explore how AI assistants, agentic workflows, and “storage of intelligence” are reshaping the workplace for both knowledge workers and frontline employees. David shares insights from Read AI’s global user base, including why 70% of workers want AI to take on more tasks, how multimodal tools are transforming decision-making, and why AI-driven orchestration may replace prompt-driven workflows altogether. Some highlights from the interview: * How AI reduces “Monday dread” by…

27 min
GeekWire Podcast

Seattle’s tech paradox: Amazon's layoffs and the AI boom — or is it a bubble?

Why is Amazon laying off 14,000 people during a massive AI boom? Todd and John analyze the Seattle tech paradox, digging into Andy Jassy's 'startup' reasoning and debating whether the AI frenzy is a bubble. Then, they take on the Cascadia high-speed rail: a necessary connector or a misguided project? Related headlines from the week Amazon layoffs Amazon confirms 14,000 job cuts, says push for ‘efficiency gains’ will continue into 2026 A tale of two Seattles in the age of AI: Harsh realities and new hope for the tech community Filing: Amazon cuts more than 2,300 jobs in Washington state…

44 min
First Slice Guest

54 - David Shim, Co-Founder & CEO at Read AI

David Shim, CEO of Read AI, shares how AI-powered summaries are transforming meetings, emails, and collaboration. Key Highlights: - David Shim’s Journey: From founding Placed to leading Read AI, an innovative AI-powered communication tool. - The Birth of Read AI: Inspired by inefficient virtual meetings, Read AI aims to streamline collaboration. - Beyond Meetings: Read AI integrates with emails, Slack, and more for cross-platform summaries. - AI’s Role in Contextual Understanding: How AI advancements improve transcription accuracy and actionable insights. - Future of AI in Collaboration: The next phase of AI-driven efficiency and the role of Read AI in upcoming…

19 min
Tiger Sisters Guest

Give me 24 mins. I'll teach you how to conquer rejection (by AI CEO David Shim)

In this season opener, Jean and Cherie sit down with David Shim—former CEO of FourSquare, founder of Read AI, and the entrepreneur who sold his startup to Snapchat for $200M. He reveals how he overcame relentless rejections, launched his first business at age six, and why “letting it wash off you” can be a superpower in sales. Stick around for Jean and Cherie’s post-interview debrief, where they break down their biggest takeaways, share personal stories that connect with David’s journey, and offer practical tips you can apply to your own business or career. Don’t miss this eye-opening start to our…

46 min
Startup Project Guest

From Zero to $50 Million Read.AI's Explosive Growth | David Shim Founder of Read AI | Startup Project #90

This episode of Startup Project tackles that very problem! Join host Nataraj as he sits down with David Shim, CEO of Read.ai, a company that just raised $50 million in Series B funding to revolutionize how we handle meetings and work in general.About the Episode:This insightful conversation dives deep into Read.ai's innovative AI-powered meeting summarizer. David, a repeat founder, trader, investor, and former CEO of Foursquare, shares his journey, from the initial spark of an idea during a particularly unproductive Zoom call to Read.ai's current position as a top meeting note-taker. He reveals the secrets behind their rapid growth, achieving…

54 min
Grace Gong Guest

David Shim: Revolutionizing Meetings with AI at Read

David Shim is the Co-Founder and CEO of Read AI. Read AI empowers you to enhance the effectiveness of your meetings. By applying AI and analytics to video conferencing, Read analyzes, prescribes, and prevents bad meetings. Experience the ultimate app for hybrid meetings with Read available on Zoom as part of Essential Apps. Prior to Read AI, David was the CEO of Foursquare. Topics: - Leveraging AI to solve common pain points in virtual meetings - The future of hybrid work and the role of AI in enhancing productivity - The potential of AI to transform meeting culture and team…

57 min
Taylor Soper / GeekWire

Seattle Startup Read AI Raises $50M Series B to Accelerate Growth of AI-Powered Enterprise Productivity Tools

Seattle startup Read AI, selling generative AI-powered enterprise productivity tools, has raised $50 million in a Series B round to accelerate growth, boasting 75% of the Fortune 500 as users and adding 100,000 new accounts weekly without marketing spend. The company aims to expand its 'copilot everywhere' vision by integrating AI across communication platforms like email, messaging, and video calls, with plans to add predictive analytics and automation.

Book Recommendations for Founders Guest

Read AI's David Shim on Making Meetings More Efficient With Intelligent Agents

In this episode, Madrona Managing Director Matt McIlwain hosts David Shim, founder and CEO of Read AI. These two have known each other for over two decades, having worked together at Farecast and then Placed, which David founded in 2011. They came together again in 2021, when David started Read AI, which delivers AI solutions that make meetings, emails, and messages more valuable to teams with AI-generated summaries, transcripts, and highlights. In this episode, David and Matt examine how leveraging emerging technologies, getting engagement from multiple members of your ecosystem in the early days, and learning your way into a…

37 min
GeekWire Podcast

What the heck happened at Convoy?

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we examine the market forces, debt, and other dynamics that put the digital freight marketplace Convoy out of business, bringing one of the Seattle region's top startups to the end of the road. Related coverage: ‘The markets crushed us’: In tearful farewell to employees, Convoy execs reflect on shutdown Convoy collapse: Read CEO’s memo detailing sudden shutdown of Seattle trucking startup Convoy raised $260 million just 18 months ago, at a valuation of $3.8 billion. Its investor list was a who's who of tech moguls and celebrities, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff…

22 min
Shift AI with Boaz Ashkenazy

Using AI to read the room with Read.ai CEO David Shim

In this episode of Shift AI, David Shim CEO at read.ai shares his experience as a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and running one of the most exciting Madrona backed AI startups based in Seattle. Below is a summary of the topics covered: Transitioning from a political science major to identifying untapped opportunities in the stock trading market. Acquiring foundational customer service skills in the early stages of a career. The influence of a family of Korean immigrant entrepreneurs on work ethic and problem-solving. The journey of founding and scaling startups like Placed and read.ai in emerging markets. Adapting product focus…

43 min
Cara Kuhlman / GeekWire

Foursquare CEO David Shim to Resign; Gary Little Named CEO in 2021; Other Tech Leadership Moves Reported

Foursquare CEO David Shim, founder of Placed, is resigning and will be succeeded by board member Gary Little in 2021 after a transition; Shim plans to return to entrepreneurship. Other moves: investor Karan Mehandru left Trinity Ventures to join Steadfast Financial while remaining on several boards, 343 Industries’ Chris Lee stepped down from Halo Infinite project direction, and WTIA hired Molly Jones as VP of government affairs.

Organizations

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  • Read AI logo
    Read AI Executive Officer, Director 2021–present, Co-Founder, CEO 2021–present · current
  • Venture Capital Angel Investor 2019–present · current
  • Foursquare Chief Executive Officer 2019–2020, President 2019 · past

Education

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