From Pune to legal tech pioneer: Rongfei’s unconventional journey

Rongfei’s life and career are unlike any other. Born in China and living across four continents, Rongfei’s journey has been shaped by a variety of experiences and bold choices. Today, she works at the intersection of entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence (AI), and law, using technology to improve legal access for underserved communities. As the founder of the nonprofit Paraply and the beginning Before AI, Rongfei creates profound impact through leverage Artificial intelligence Providing affordable and accessible legal assistance.

First impressions and a global perspective

Rongfei’s path took a transformative turn when, at age 17, she received a scholarship to attend United World College in Pune, India. Located in a small village near Pune, the international school is known for promoting multicultural understanding and community service. It was there that Rongfei developed a broader worldview and an interest in addressing social issues; interests that would later shape her professional work.
Reflecting on this period, Anand Lalwani, a classmate from his time in Pune, noted that Rongfei’s character stood out: “Apart from being one of the hardest working people in our class, Rongfei also has a good heart. He has always rescued me and our other friends when we had difficult problems, and it is no surprise to us to hear that he has started a legitimate non-profit.”

From aerospace engineering to AI innovation

Rongfei continued her education after completing high school in India. Stanford Universityinitially focused on aeronautical engineering. However, during his time at Stanford, he shifted his academic focus to artificial intelligence. As a researcher Stanford At AI Lab, he published important work on benchmarks for domain-independent self-supervised learning models, advancing the field by enabling more rigorous comparisons between different AI domains. His research contributions have been recognized at top AI conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR.
But Rongfei’s ambitions extended beyond academia. He launched his first entrepreneurial venture, MushroomX, focused on robotic mushroom farming. That venture later evolved into Hedgehog, a Y Combinator-backed, AI-powered, robotically grown specialty mushrooms company. These early ventures laid the groundwork for his later focus on AI applications in law and compliance, combining his engineering skills with his growing interest in applying AI to practical problems.

Bridging technology and policy

While gaining expertise in AI, Rongfei also developed an interest in the legal and regulatory aspects of the technology. McKinsey In Washington, D.C., he began researching technology policy and law, particularly in the aerospace and defense sectors. This interest deepened during a summer internship at a flying car startup, where he saw firsthand the importance of public policy in technological innovation.
His expertise in AI, law, and policy led him to positions at the Hoover Institution, the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and the CodeX legal technology center at Stanford Law School. These roles allowed Rongfei to delve deeper into the intersection of technology and law, and eventually led him to Uber. UberHe led global marketing privacy and legal compliance strategies, implemented privacy features for over 100 million users, and set new standards in AI governance and privacy by contributing to GDPR and CCPA compliance.

Revolutionizing legal access using AI

Inspired by his own experiences as an immigrant and his desire to make a positive social impact, Rongfei founded Paraply with his Stanford classmate Nick Goodson. Paraply is an AI-powered legal technology A nonprofit organization that aims to transform how Americans access legal assistance, especially in underserved communities. By integrating generative AI with human expertise, Paraply provides free, expert legal assistance on critical issues such as housing, immigration, and domestic violence. The nonprofit is supported by leading law firms, Stanford Law and California Supreme Courtsets it apart in the legal technology space.
In addition to Paraply, Rongfei founded Antes AI, a company dedicated to helping businesses overcome complex regulatory compliance requirements using AI. With investments from leading Silicon Valley venture capitalists like Kleiner Perkins, Antes AI is at the forefront of regulatory technology, providing cutting-edge solutions to some of the most challenging compliance challenges companies face today.

Passionate adventurer

Outside of her professional work, Rongfei is an avid adventurer who enjoys skiing, flying, and hiking, which reflects her love of exploration and desire to push boundaries. An interesting fact about Rongfei is that she earned her pilot’s license before her driver’s license while at Dartmouth. She also serves on several influential boards, including the Forbes Nonprofit Council and the advisory board of the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

The road ahead

Rongfei’s unconventional journey from a small village in India to leading impactful AI and legal technology startups demonstrates his ability to bridge diverse fields and drive meaningful change. As Paraply and Antes continue to innovate with AI, Rongfei is committed to using technology to close gaps in legal access and regulatory compliance, ensuring these services are accessible to everyone, regardless of background. His story is a powerful example of how interdisciplinary knowledge, innovation, and commitment to social good can create transformative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. He still fondly remembers his time in Pune, which allowed him to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams.
Authorship and acknowledgements: This article was produced by the Times Internet Spotlight team in collaboration with Anand Lalwani.