Cameron Dennis

CTO

San Francisco, California, United States12 yrs 8 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchAI Enabled

Key Highlights

Led major fundraising rounds totaling hundreds of millions.
Established a comprehensive blockchain talent ecosystem.
Pioneered AI strategy for NEAR Foundation.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Blockchain and Education expert with a strong focus on AI applications.

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Skills

Core Skills

Business DevelopmentAi StrategyPartnership ManagementCommunity ManagementEcosystem GrowthTalent DevelopmentEducational PartnershipsEducational DevelopmentMarket AnalysisInvestment StrategyTeachingCommunity BuildingEntrepreneurshipOperations ManagementSalesMarketing

Other Skills

Investor RelationsTechnical IntegrationsMachine LearningPartnership DevelopmentBlockchain TechnologyCommunity EngagementEvent PlanningEcosystem DevelopmentStrategic PartnershipsEducational GrantsCurriculum DevelopmentGrant ManagementEducational Program DevelopmentWorkshop FacilitationSpeaker Engagement

About

Building the future of user-owned AI at the NEAR Foundation where I lead strategic partnerships, technical integrations, investments, and sales. Let's connect if you need verifiably private AI inference!

Experience

12 yrs 8 mos

Total Experience

3 yrs 8 mos

Average Tenure

8 yrs 3 mos

Current Experience

Near protocol

Director of AI

Nov 2020 – Present · 5 yrs 5 mos · Remote

Joined Near Inc in 2020 as Business Development Analyst and progressed through multiple strategic roles driving protocol adoption and ecosystem growth. Initially focused on developer relations, brokering critical infrastructure partnerships.
Transferred to the NEAR Foundation to help managed market success initiatives including business development and investor relations that contributed to a major fundraising round totaling hundreds of millions in capital.
Transitioned to founding Banyan Collective, a NEAR product studio and ecosystem growth engine, where I led community programs across NYC, San Francisco, and Austin markets, organizing dozens of events and hackathons for hundreds of developers while growing email lists and founder engagement networks. Established specialized builder groups for vertical-specific initiatives including indexers, NFTs, and DeFi, providing targeted founder support and ecosystem development. Managed investor relations functions while coordinating various Standard Groups, the NEAR Digital Collective, and other founder-focused initiatives.
Since January 2024, I pivoted to seed the NEAR AI strategy by launching the private ML SDK initiative and building partnerships across data labeling, distributed inference, compute providers, and agent framework development to establish NEAR as a leading blockchain platform for AI applications.

Business DevelopmentInvestor RelationsTechnical IntegrationsPartnership ManagementAI Strategy

Blockchain acceleration foundation (baf)

Founder & Chairman of the Board

Nov 2018 – Present · 7 yrs 5 mos · Remote

BAF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit accelerating blockchain talent development across 50+ universities worldwide. BAF serves as the trusted bridge connecting students, academics, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals to advance the open web through education, research, and strategic partnerships.
Built comprehensive ecosystem reaching 3,000+ students and deploying $800K+ in educational grants, builder residencies, and research initiatives. Established flagship programs including university-accredited blockchain development courses, conference partnerships (official Consensus university partner), and protocol-sponsored learning tracks with the Ethereum, Steller, Arbitrum, NEAR, Avalanche, Aptos, Hedera, Protocol Labs, and Algorand foundations.
During my time with BAF, I created systematic talent pipeline converting "crypto-curious" students into industry contributors through hands-on project development, hackathon competitions, and direct mentorship. Launched international initiatives including APAC scholarship programs, European research retreats, and LATAM builder residencies that consistently produce hackathon winners and protocol contributors.
I transitioned to Chairman role while maintaining strategic oversight of partnerships, curriculum development, and ecosystem growth initiatives.

Strategic PartnershipsEducational GrantsCurriculum DevelopmentPartnership ManagementTalent Development

Opus logica, inc.

Analyst

Jun 2018 – Jan 2019 · 7 mos · Santa Barbara, California Area

Conducted comprehensive due diligence and market research on emerging technologies under the mentorship of Brian Fox. Specialized in analyzing technical feasibility, mechanism design, and competitive positioning to inform strategic investment decisions.

Market ResearchDue DiligenceTechnical AnalysisMarket AnalysisInvestment Strategy

Blockchain at ucsb

Co-Founder & Advisor

Jan 2018 – Present · 8 yrs 3 mos · Santa Barbara, California Area

Co-founded and scaled UC Santa Barbara's premier blockchain organization from startup to 600+ active members, establishing one of the largest student-led Web3 communities on the West Coast. Built comprehensive educational ecosystem connecting students with industry opportunities through workshops, speaker series, and hands-on development experiences.
Delivered executive-level presentations on consensus mechanisms, mechanism design, decentralized finance, regulatory frameworks, and market analysis to diverse audiences spanning technical and non-technical backgrounds. Created systematic programming bridging academic theory with practical blockchain implementation.
Launched initiatives including industry career fairs, technical hackathons, and protocol partnerships that consistently connected students with internships, full-time opportunities, and founding team positions at blockchain startups. Established sustainable leadership pipeline ensuring organizational growth beyond founding cohort.
Transitioned to advisory role while maintaining strategic oversight of curriculum development, industry partnerships, and talent placement initiatives.

Workshop FacilitationSpeaker EngagementCurriculum DevelopmentCommunity ManagementEducational Development

Loca fresh

Co-Founder & Chief Operations Officer

Aug 2017 – Jul 2018 · 11 mos · Santa Barbara, California Area

Loca Fresh was bringing the farmers market to you. We partnered with over 10 farms to deliver the highest quality produce straight to your door.
I was responsible for business development, farmer relations, hiring, managing team, and product development.
Successfully raised seed capital.

Business DevelopmentProduct DevelopmentEntrepreneurshipOperations Management

Rightscale

Sales Development Intern

May 2017 – Apr 2018 · 11 mos · Santa Barbara, California Area

Supported sales team in prospecting leads, account-based marketing, cold calls, market research, and organizing accounts using Salesforce.

Sales DevelopmentMarket ResearchSalesMarketing

The harbor restaurant

Food Runner

Feb 2016 – Jul 2016 · 5 mos · Santa Barbara, California

Everyone should work a service job to learn what it's like to deal with difficult customers.

Private instructor

Yoga Instructor

Aug 2013 – Nov 2018 · 5 yrs 3 mos · Goleta, California

Completed 200-Hour RYT power vinyasa yoga teacher training at Green Monkey Yoga and taught over 2,000 students through private instruction and community classes. Organized free weekly yoga classes in local parks, regularly attracting 50+ participants during senior year of college, and traveled internationally to provide specialized private instruction.

Yoga InstructionCommunity EngagementTeachingCommunity Building