pioneering data scientist and entrepreneur Nikin Matharaarachchi

A pioneering data scientist and entrepreneur Nikin Matharaarachchi achchi has been named to the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for 2025 under the Social Media, Marketing and Advertising category.

He is the founder of Synapse AI Labs, a Colombo-based start-up developing AI-powered tools that help brands decode and respond to complex online conversations in real time. Matharaarachchi currently leads the development of Kommon Poll, an AI-driven social intelligence platform that tracks and interprets digital narratives across platforms, languages, and sentiment trends.

He is also building MentionedBy.ai, a forthcoming AI monitoring tool that tracks brands on generative AI models.

He is currently completing his PhD in Artificial Intelligence at Monash University, focusing on computer vision.

His work is helping position Sri Lanka as a rising force in AI and marketing technology, and he remains committed to building globally relevant innovation from his home base in Colombo.