Keith Peiris was a 15-year-old breadwinner when he began to use his skills in design and technology to develop popular products. At the age of nine, he had already started to pursue his talents and, by 15, he and his father had launched their own successful website building company, Cyberteks Design. With his skills and passion for technology, Keith went on to become an engineer and eventually a global product manager at Facebook and Instagram.
From his experience in big technology companies, Keith learned that it’s important to keep an open mind when creating technology, since no one knows how the products may be used. With the idea of empowering people to tell stories and create with the help of A.I., Keith and his co-founder Henri Liriani created Tome, a storytelling tool utilizing generative A.I. The tool allows creators to rapidly generate content in a matter of seconds and has seen usage from parents to doctors as well as celebrities. After many successes, they recently raised $300 million in their Series B round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, and the platform has surpassed 3 million users.
This statement resonates with Keith: “I think you have to be committed to doing things the hard way – the earnest way. If you do, though, I tend to believe that things work out.” He believes that there may be no shortcuts when it comes to building a valuable product, yet this hasn’t dampened his mission to create products that are useful and appreciated by the world. Nothing else remains for Keith to show how far he has come since being his family’s breadwinner at only 15 – he is a great example of how ambition and passion lead to success.
