Assistant Professor, University of Fukui
Founder & CEO, Virufy
I develop real-world AI applications across healthcare, tourism, data analytics, behavioral science and cybersecurity, while building bridges between people and ideas across Japan, the US and the Middle East.
I’m a Specially Appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Fukui’s Regional Revitalization Headquarters, where I teach entrepreneurship and AI and work with local governments across Hokuriku on regional innovation.
Since 2020, I’ve been Founder and CEO of virufy.org, a nonprofit applying AI to real-world health challenges.
I have more than 15 years of experience in tech and AI. I’ve led engineering teams in Silicon Valley and Tokyo at VMware Pivotal Greenplum and HP Enterprise, and served as Technical Lead at MIT Sandbox.
Fluent in Japanese and Urdu/Hindi. One Young World Japan Ambassador and Eiheiji Town Evolution Ambassador.
Developed a smartphone app for respiratory screening research using cough and breathing sounds. I contribute to lung-sound research on pneumonia detection with the University of Washington and a university in Japan.
Led development of DHDE, an edge-AI sensor fusion instrument for measuring human mobility, published in Measurement (2026). Working with local governments to forecast visitor demand across Fukui.
Getting people to share data at scale, without paying them.
At HP ArcSight, developed multi-device log processing for a SIEM threat-analysis engine used by Fortune 500 clients. At VMware Pivotal Greenplum, led 10 developers across the US and Beijing to build a database workload manager adopted by a US megabank, and cut software release time from days to hours.
Connecting universities, governments and companies across Japan, Silicon Valley, the Gulf and South Asia.
Since 2020, more than 1,400 volunteers have contributed to Virufy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working with universities and research institutions around the world. Our work includes clinical research and respiratory-sound patents in the US and Japan.
virufy.orgAt the University of Fukui, I teach entrepreneurship, AI-powered social informatics and management of technology. Students work in the field with mayors and tourism boards. In 2026, I hosted young researchers from four countries through the JST Sakura Science Program.
In Japanese or English, for conferences, companies and local communities.
How can a town or business prepare for tomorrow’s visitors? Drawing on our live dashboard in Fukui, I show how camera counts, weather and open data become forecasts that help with staffing, stock and parking. The approach can be adapted to stations, shopping centres and visitor attractions.
Practical workshops where teams use AI to explore real data and turn a finding into a recommendation. Based on sessions with industry in Fukui, the focus is on useful work people can do themselves, with no coding required.
Lessons from building Virufy, a medical-AI nonprofit, and working on respiratory-sound research: moving from a research idea toward clinical studies, bringing together an international team, and the challenges along the way. I have spoken on this work at LEAP in Riyadh.
What can customer feedback, visitor patterns and sales data tell a small business? I discuss practical ways to use AI to understand customers and make everyday decisions, with examples from tourism and local business in Japan.
Planning a talk or workshop? Email me with your audience, topic and possible dates.
amil.k@u-fukui.ac.jp
Full list on Google Scholar, University of Fukui and ORCID.
For research collaborations in medical AI, human mobility or data systems, get in touch.
amil.k@u-fukui.ac.jp