We recently had the chance to connect with Kedar Karkare PhD and have shared our conversation below.
Kedar, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
To me, intelligence, energy, and integrity aren’t separate qualities—they’re more like overlapping circles in a Venn diagram. At the intersection lies the kind of leadership and presence I strive for. Intelligence without integrity can be manipulative. Energy without intelligence burns out. Integrity without energy lacks movement. Each on its own is powerful, but when they converge, they create something exponentially more impactful than the sum of their parts. I aim to live and work from that intersection—where clarity of thought, force of will, and alignment of values all reinforce each other.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Kedar Karkare, a strategist, futurist, and founder of The Senseai Institute—a dojo for visionary thinking in an AI-driven world. With a background spanning evolutionary biology, AI, and market intelligence, I help founders, scientists, and executives make sense of emerging technologies and design strategy that actually feels human.
Senseai is more than a consultancy—it’s a training ground for perception and positioning. We approach strategy like a martial art: precise, embodied, and deeply attuned to complex systems. Whether we’re mapping AI ecosystems or helping a startup find its footing, our work is grounded in clarity, ethics, and long-term thinking. What makes us unique is our integration of science, storytelling, and systems design—bridging the rational and the intuitive to build what’s next.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
Yao Li, my kung fu mentor, saw me clearly long before I could see myself. In a world that often rewarded intellect and speed, he recognized something deeper—my need for stillness, discipline, and the slow, sacred path of mastery. He didn’t try to fix or reshape me. He simply held a mirror, steady and unwavering, until I could begin to see my own strength, softness, and potential reflected back.
Through martial arts, he taught me how to inhabit my body, not just my mind. How to move with intention. How to honor pain as part of growth. He met me not as a student to mold, but as a human to awaken. His quiet presence and precise instruction helped me begin to trust my instincts, to feel power in humility, and to walk my own path with integrity.
In many ways, Yao Li didn’t just teach me kung fu—he taught me how to return to myself.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
More times than I care to count. Honestly, nearly every day. Every day feels like getting up from the mat—physically, emotionally, spiritually. The weight of the unknown, the loneliness of the path, the sheer exhaustion of building something meaningful… it adds up. And yet, we persist. Not because it’s easy. But because something deeper keeps calling. So I rise. Again and again. That, to me, is the real practice.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest lies my industry tells itself is that technology and biology are separate—or even opposing—forces. In truth, they are expressions of the same underlying intelligence. Evolution is a design process. Code is DNA by another name. The more we view tech and nature as fundamentally distinct, the more we build systems that harm rather than heal. At Senseai, we work to restore that connection—treating markets as ecosystems, and intelligence (artificial or natural) as something to be integrated, not dominated.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If immortality were real, what would you build?
If immortality were real, I would build a humane death machine. Something sacred. Voluntary. A gentle exit for those who are ready. Because not everyone would want to live forever—and maybe no one should. It’s death that makes us human. Mortality gives our choices weight, our moments meaning. Without it, we risk becoming untethered. I wouldn’t try to cheat death. I’d try to honor it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://senseaiinstitute.com/
- Instagram: @senseaiinstitute
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kedar-karkare-phd-920900370
- Twitter: @kedarphd
- Youtube: The Senseai Institute
