Neel Somani

Neel Somani is a visionary technologist and entrepreneur with a proven track record across blockchain development, quantitative research, and academia. He is the founder of Eclipse, Ethereum’s fastest Layer 2 platform powered by the Solana Virtual Machine, which has garnered significant industry recognition, including $50 million in Series A funding. A former quantitative researcher at Citadel’s commodities group, Neel previously honed his analytical expertise solving complex problems in global markets. He holds a triple major in computer science, mathematics, and business administration from UC Berkeley, where he contributed to groundbreaking research in type systems, differential privacy, and scalable machine learning frameworks. Beyond his technical achievements, Neel has a passion for mentorship and community building. He has guided over 20 students across disciplines, including mentoring UC Berkeley students from its prestigious Haas and mathematics programs. His industry thought leadership has been featured in top-tier media outlets such as Bloomberg and CoinDesk, documenting his innovative strides in blockchain and beyond. Neel also supports higher education through a personal scholarship program, which underscores his dedication to fostering the next generation of talent.