Building technology
to lift humanity.

Mary Jesse is the founder and CEO of ACME Brains, building nexie: a private, personal AI that remembers what matters to you, keeps your data under your control, and works for you rather than harvesting your information. Her work sits at the intersection of AI privacy, personal context, and human-centered design.

The insight behind ACME Brains came from a deeply personal experience. After using AI during a difficult period in her life, Mary recognized something millions of people encounter: AI is helpful, but it forgets everything, shares everything, and belongs to someone else. nexie is her answer to that problem, and to a broader question the industry has mostly ignored: what if your AI actually belonged to you?

Mary brings rare depth to that mission. A licensed Professional Electrical Engineer (P.E.) with 24+ patents and more than 35 years of executive experience across wireless, media, retail, healthcare, and government, she has led companies as CEO, CTO, and VP and served on boards across public and private sectors. Her wireless broadband work established the technical foundation that now informs how she thinks about secure, personal AI infrastructure.

Committed to technology equity, women in business, and underserved communities, Mary mentors science-based founders through the Creative Destruction Lab and writes about the human future of technology on her Substack, Life and Technology.