Steve Carlin

Worth knowing

Steve is the person who gets frontier technology sold: he built the Americas commercial business for SoftBank Robotics, set global strategy for Facebook's $3B gaming business, and has put AI hardware into real retail stores at scale. He knows the buyers, the channel partners and the venture money in consumer tech and robotics.

Story

Steve began in packaged goods, with sales, marketing and strategy roles at Procter & Gamble and Energizer, before moving into games as Senior Director of Marketing and Insights at Ubisoft and then to Facebook. Robotics came next, at SoftBank Robotics America. From 2022 to 2025 he was CEO of AiFi, the spatial-intelligence platform behind autonomous stores, handing the company to co-founder João Diogo Falcão before returning his attention to Kebek Ventures, the firm he started in 2014, alongside his work as Venture Partner and Executive in Residence at Translink Capital in Burlingame.

In Steve's words

Of the Montreal Carlins, I'm a business leader and entrepreneur with extensive experience scaling technology companies, building strategic partnerships, and driving growth across international markets. I'm excited to connect with fellow Canadians to share expertise, open doors, and help Canadian businesses grow and compete on the global stage.

Highlights

• CEO, AiFi (2022-2025); $65M Series B, 280+ autonomous retail locations
• President & Chief Strategy Officer, SoftBank Robotics America
• Global Head of Strategy for Gaming, Facebook ($3B business)
• Board of Industry Leaders, Consumer Technology Association (2016-present)
• MBA, Goizueta Business School; named a Top 100 alum of its first century (2019)