Mary Jesse
Mary Jesse is the founder and CEO of ACME Brains, Inc., vice chairman of the board at MTI - Mobile Technologies Inc., and a strategic advisor at PlayyOn. She founded ACME Brains, which is still running. Her expertise includes human-centered AI, privacy, personal technology, and advising companies on AI strategy and innovation.
Live show: Amazon, Meta and the fight over the future of AI; Plus, is Seattle still the place to build?
This week: Amazon is blocking Meta's new Muse AI assistant from shopping on Amazon.com, saying the agent doesn't identify itself and violates the site's conditions of use. We explain why the standoff is an early sign of a much bigger fight over whether AI agents can use websites and apps on people's behalf, and why Amazon has so much riding on the answer. For the definitive word on the issue, we ask Muse what it has to say for itself, and get an impressively sophisticated and evenhanded answer. We recorded this week's show live at Daniel's Broiler in downtown Seattle…
Seattle Tech Week Kickoff Spotlights Founders Building an AI WhatsApp Agent for Seattle Orcas Logistics and Other Startup Tools
At the Seattle Tech Week kickoff, founders and leaders described diverse projects including an AI agent that manages a professional cricket team's logistics via WhatsApp, and other startups building B2B tools and voice AI for bar inventory. The event drew over 29,000 registrations and included panels showcasing regional entrepreneurs and investors.
Seattle’s ACME Brains Launches 'nexie' AI Assistant with Persistent Memory and Enhanced Privacy Controls
Seattle startup ACME Brains, led by CEO Mary Jesse and co-founders Alan Caplan and Bob Bergstrom, is developing nexie, a personal AI assistant with persistent memory and privacy controls. The tool aims to improve AI conversation continuity by remembering past interactions and safeguarding user data, currently progressing toward alpha and beta testing phases.
Ziad Ismail Named COO of Seattle AI Startup Xembly; Jennifer Sullo Joins Earth Finance; Aaron Bird Becomes Inflection.io CEO
Ziad Ismail has joined Seattle AI startup Xembly as COO, bringing extensive experience from Convoy and Microsoft. Additionally, Jennifer Sullo joined Earth Finance as managing director, and Aaron Bird became CEO of Seattle marketing startup Inflection.io.
Sally Jewell named Edward V. Fritzky chair at UW Foster; Riveter CEO Amy Nelson relocates to Columbus; other exec moves
A roundup of leadership moves: former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will be the Edward V. Fritzky endowed chair at UW Foster School for 2021–22; Riveter CEO Amy Nelson is relocating to Columbus but will remain with the company; and several other executives (including Jeff Blackburn, Randy Tinseth, and Vinayak Hegde) are taking new roles or joining boards.
Qumulo names ex-AWS Janine Corey cloud CTO; Elissa Fink joins Conversica board; Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson joins Amperity board
Seattle startup Qumulo hired Janine Corey as cloud CTO after five years at Amazon Web Services; the company is valued at $1.2 billion and raised $125 million earlier this year. Former Tableau CMO Elissa Fink joined Conversica’s board and Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson joined Amperity’s board, reflecting several executive moves among Seattle-area tech firms.
Organizations
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ACME Brains Founder and CEO 2025–present · current
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PlayyOn Strategic Advisor 2025–present · current
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MTI - Mobile Technologies Inc. Vice Chairman of the Board 2024–present, Chairman of the Board 2023–2024, Board Member 2021–2023, Chief Executive Officer 2020–2023, Chief Operating Officer 2020 · current
Education
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Stanford University Certificate, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
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Stanford University Certificate, Generative AI
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Harvard University Corporate Finance Coursework
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Santa Clara University MSEE Master of Science - MS, Electrical Engineering
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University of Utah BSEE Bachelor of Science - BS, Electrical Engineering
