Michael Brenndoerfer | Data & AI, Private Equity, Technology

Michael Brenndoerfer

About me

Michael
Brenndoerfer.

I work with data and AI. I write to make difficult ideas easier to understand.

Singapore Data science & AI

Get in touch Publications

Work, writing, and a little curiosity.

A little background

Technical depth.
Practical problems.

I help investors and operators use data, machine learning, and software to make better decisions and run businesses more effectively.

My background spans engineering, consulting, and investing. I enjoy building things from the ground up: a team, a new capability, a product, or a clearer way to understand an idea.

I’ve lived and worked across North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. These days, I call Singapore home.

More about my work and approach

Overview

What I do

I help investors and operators use data, machine learning, and software to make better decisions and run businesses more effectively. My work sits at the intersection of ML and AI, advanced analytics, practical software engineering, finance, and the practical needs of any business. I am most energized when I can combine technical depth with ownership, entrepreneurship, and clear business outcomes.

I have built and led data, analytics, and engineering efforts across portfolio and client organizations, and I have also founded and helped build new products, teams, and companies from the ground up. That includes taking ideas from zero to one, turning them into repeatable capabilities, and then scaling them in a way that fits the economics and culture of the business. In practice, this means owning outcomes end to end, not just delivering a model or a dashboard.

My background spans software and data engineering, machine learning and AI, advanced analytics, product and platform thinking, strategy, and investing. This breadth helps me translate between technical teams, business leaders, and deal or investment teams. I am comfortable contributing as an individual expert on a complex problem, leading cross-functional teams from idea to execution, or acting as a strategic partner to decide where data, analytics, and technology can have the highest impact and where not to spend effort.

I have lived and worked across North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe, and now call Singapore home. Before that, I was based in San Francisco and spent time in Jakarta, Boston, São Paulo, London, Berkeley, Zurich, San Jose, Hong Kong, and Stuttgart. That range of contexts has shaped how I lead and collaborate. Practically, it means I pay attention to culture and communication style, and I am comfortable making progress in ambiguous or unfamiliar environments where the path forward is not perfectly defined.

If any of this resonates, or if you think we might share interests, feel free to reach out. You can find an overview of my work experience here, and explore some of my technical, applied analytics, and entrepreneurial work and writing here.

The other side of my work

Writing things down helps.

All books

I write the kind of explanations I’d want to read myself. The books connect the ideas, the mathematics, and the code. You can read them online for free.

Machine Learning from Scratch

The mathematics, intuition, and Python behind machine learning.

Read online

Language AI Handbook

From NLP foundations to transformers and language models.

Read online

World Models Handbook

How AI represents environments, predicts, and plans.

Read online

Quantitative Finance

The models and mathematics behind financial decisions.

Read online

Or start with an article

Experience

Professional Experience

Associate Director, Data Science & AI

EQT Partners

2024 - Present · Singapore, Singapore

EQT AB is a Swedish global investment organization founded in 1994. Its funds invest in private equity, infrastructure, real estate, growth equity, and venture capital in Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. As of 2024, EQT's assets under management are €269 billion / US$300 billion.

In my role as Data Science Lead for APAC, effectively serving as an analytics operating partner and AI expert, I work at the intersection of data, AI, and engineering to drive value creation in private capital (Private Equity, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Venture Capital). I focus on partnering with portfolio companies to deliver data- and AI-driven initiatives, while also leading internal efforts around next-generation AI capabilities.

Vice President, Portfolio Value Creation

Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)

2021 - 2024 · San Francisco, CA, USA

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, operating as CPP Investments, is a Canadian Crown corporation established by way of the 1997 Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act to oversee and invest the funds contributed to and held by the Canada Pension Plan.

As part of CPPIB's Portfolio Value Creation team (the Operating Partner group), I worked across the global portfolio of direct private equity and infrastructure investments to lead data- and analytics-driven initiatives. I was also a founding member of the group's Data & Advanced Analytics team.

Associate Principal, Advanced Analytics

McKinsey & Company, QuantumBlack

2019 - 2021 · Boston, MA, USA

McKinsey & Company is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinsey, McKinsey is the oldest and largest of the "MBB" management consultancies.

As an expert consultant, I focused on advanced analytics, digital strategy, and software initiatives. I led the development of several big data platforms and machine learning solutions for clients around the world, and was part of the very early team at QuantumBlack (now AI by McKinsey).

Senior Software Engineer

Fitbit (now part of Google)

2018 - 2019 · Boston, MA, USA

Fitbit is a line of wireless-enabled wearable technology, physical fitness monitors and activity trackers such as smartwatches, pedometers and monitors for heart rate, quality of sleep, and stairs climbed as well as related software.

As a senior software engineer, I worked on the Fitbit Healthcare Services platform, responsible for development and optimization efforts to ensure performance and scalability.

Co-founder, CTO

Cryptonite

2017 - 2018 · Berkeley, CA, USA

Cryptonite was a first-of-its-kind brokerage and portfolio management platform, optimizing order routing across exchanges and alternative trading systems (ATS) for best execution. Incubated at Berkeley SkyDeck.

As Co-founder and CTO, I was responsible for everything from product development and engineering to fundraising, hiring, and everything else.

R&D Engineer

IBM Research

2013 - 2017 · Almaden, CA / Boston, MA / Rueschlikon, Switzerland / Stuttgart, Germany

IBM Research is the research and development division for IBM, an American multinational information technology company. IBM Research is headquartered at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, near IBM headquarters in Armonk, New York.

As an R&D engineer, I worked across distributed systems, databases, and machine learning. My primary focus was on developing deep learning cloud services for IBM Watson and building high-availability, high-throughput components for IBM Cloud. I also conducted fundamental research on database systems and blockchain.

Education

Academic Background

M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS)

University of California, Berkeley

Fung Institute of Engineering Leadership · Berkeley, CA, USA

B.Sc. in Computer Science

Duale Hochschule Baden Wuerttemberg, Stuttgart

Stuttgart, Germany

Visiting Student

Harvard University

Harvard Business School · Grade A in international business & strategy · Boston, MA, USA

Executive Education in Startup Law

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley Law · Merit based acceptance into executive education program · Berkeley, CA, USA

Cross-enrolled MBA (no degree)

University of California, Berkeley - Haas School of Business

Attended most classes of the MBA program during my M.Eng. in Computer Science · Berkeley, CA, USA

Semester Abroad

Staffordshire University

Computer Science · UK

Ventures

Entrepreneurship

Co-founder

Standard Information

2021

Most advanced lead distribution platform for lead generation, brokering and selling.

Co-founder

1st Nation Ads

2019

As Co-founder, I was responsible for a multi-million dollar budget across programmatic ad buying, XML search feed integration, and ad arbitrage. I built and scaled data-driven traffic acquisition funnels, managed ad tech infrastructure, and continuously optimized revenue strategies to maximize profitability.

Co-founder, CTO

Cryptonite

2017

As Co-founder and CTO, I was responsible for everything from product development and engineering to fundraising, hiring, and everything else.

Research Engineer

EMR.AI

2017

I joined as a Research Engineer, contributing to deep learning NLP pipelines, core platform development, and infrastructure. I also collaborated on multiple scientific research papers.

Software Engineering Consultant

Ketos.co

2016

I joined as a software engineering consultant and worked on the initial version of the Water API, along with the mobile app used to bootstrap field-deployed water sensing devices.

Founder

Magna Wear

2015

I founded a direct-to-consumer brand focused on women's athleisure wear, overseeing the end-to-end business operations. This included product design and development, sourcing and manufacturing, branding, digital marketing, e-commerce strategy, and customer experience.

Co-founder

Touch New Media

2011

I co-founded TouchNewMedia, a Web 2.0 company that developed a tablet-based system to streamline POS processes and enhance customer service in the food and beverage industry.

Sole Proprietor

Q-Vision

2010

As sole proprietor, I provided web development and design services across a range of industries and technical requirements. Projects ranged from WordPress and WooCommerce setup and maintenance to fully bespoke PHP- and Java-based web and server applications.

Community

Club Activities

Club Secretary and Chair of the Technology Committee

Berkeley Club of Singapore

2024 - Current · Singapore

Leading the technology initiatives for the Berkeley alumni community in Singapore, and serving as the club's secretary.

Council Member

Council of the German American Conference at Harvard e.V.

2018 - Current · Germany

Serving on the council to help organize and shape the annual German-American Conference at Harvard, fostering transatlantic dialogue and collaboration.

Member

German-American Business Council of Boston

2017 - 2021 · Boston, MA, USA

Participated in networking events and business discussions focused on strengthening German-American business relations in the Boston area.

Head of Technology

German American Conference at Harvard

Cambridge, MA, USA

Led the technical infrastructure and digital platform development for the annual conference, ensuring seamless execution of hybrid events and digital content delivery.

Coach and Mentor

IDEA: Northeastern University Venture Accelerator

2019 - 2024 · Boston, MA, USA

Mentored early-stage startups in technology, data science, and AI, providing strategic guidance and technical expertise to help founders build and scale their ventures.

Admissions Interviewer for EECS Graduate Program

Fung Institute of Engineering Leadership

2018 - 2020 · Berkeley, CA, USA

Conducted interviews and evaluated candidates for the EECS graduate program, focusing on technical aptitude and leadership potential.

Mentor

Project Access

2017 - 2020

Mentored students from underrepresented backgrounds to help get access to top universities and jobs.

Awards

Recognitions

Audience Choice Winner - Frontier Innovation Awards 2018

San Francisco Blockchain Week

2018 · San Francisco, CA, USA

Bee Partners, a leading pre-seed VC firm, organized the first annual Frontier Innovation Awards. That year's competition centered on finding the most disruptive blockchain idea of the year.

Recipient - Berkeley-Haas Entrepreneurship Dean Seed Fund

Berkeley-Haas School of Business

Berkeley, CA, USA

The fund provides $5,000 awards to four student startups annually that are focused on ventures such as entertainment, gaming, or new technology. Intended for use in prototype development and customer discovery activities. These awards provide a unique opportunity for high risk, high reward projects that best embody the Berkeley Haas Defining Principle to Question The Status Quo.