Yoky Matsuoka is dedicated to audacious mission-driven innovation and ventures to change the way people live everyday. Matsuoka is a tech executive and entrepreneur with significant experience in robotics, artificial intelligence, and consumer product innovation, spanning academia, non-profit foundations, startups, and large tech corporations. Most recently, Yoky served as an executive officer of Panasonic Holdings Corporation responsible for global innovation and new businesses building their core AI capabilities. Prior to joining Panasonic, Yoky served as VP at Google’s Healthcare, CTO at Google/Nest, Senior Executive at Apple Watch and Healthcare, Co-Founder of Google X, and CEO of Quanttus, a wearable health technology startup. Her recent awards recognizing her disruptive innovation include Forbes 50 over 50, and Inc’s Top Female Founders.

Prior to her work in Silicon Valley, Yoky was an endowed professor at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Washington in the areas of AI, robotics, and neuroscience. During her tenure, she founded and directed the NSF ERC Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering and the Neurobotics Laboratory to create devices to restore the human body’s capabilities for sensation and movement. Matsuoka received the MacArthur “Genius” Award for her work in robotics and neuroscience. She also received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from the White House, and Cal Alumni Excellence in Achievement Award.

To reach people who are neglected by industry and academia efforts, Yoky founded YokyWorks Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children with physical and learning challenges. Yoky was selected as Top 10 Women To Watch by Barbie continuing to inspire women, children and those looking for courage to become who they want to be.

Matsuoka received her Ph.D. and S.M. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her B.S. at the University of California, Berkeley, all in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She is a board member of Analog Devices, Inc. and advisor to several entities including MIT and Mitsubishi Corporation. She resides in California with her husband, four children, two dogs, two cats, two horses, and a pet pig.