A company founded by Nepali-origin entrepreneur Dr. Sameer Maskey from a small room has reached one of the most prestigious financial platforms in the world — the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Following its merger with CSLM Acquisition Corp, Fusemachines began trading last Thursday under the ticker symbol “FUSE.”

Dr. Maskey describes the listing as the beginning of a new chapter for companies of Nepali origin.

“This is not just a business achievement,” he said. “It’s a dream born in Nepal now shining on the global stage. This journey would not have been possible without the employees who stood by me from the very beginning. Thank you for your dedication, loyalty, patience, and perseverance. We went through many ups and downs but never gave up.”

A Landmark for Nepali-Origin Entrepreneurship

With relentless innovation and unwavering commitment, Fusemachines succeeded in getting listed on one of the world’s most reputable stock exchanges after years of effort. For Nepal, this is a historic moment — it is the first-ever company founded by a Nepali-origin entrepreneur to be listed on Nasdaq.

From a Room to the Global Stage

Fusemachines was founded in 2013 from a single room. While working at IBM, Dr. Maskey started the company from his own living room, which has now grown into a global brand.

When he founded Fusemachines, he had no plans of taking it public.

“The idea was simply to use my knowledge of artificial intelligence to make a positive impact on people’s lives,” Maskey said.

Following the Nasdaq listing, Dr. Maskey believes a new chapter has begun in the company’s mission to “Democratize AI for All.” According to him, Fusemachines will now focus on sustainable growth, strategic investment, and long-term value creation.

Funds raised from the IPO will be used to strengthen the company’s financial structure and accelerate growth. The company plans to invest in product innovation, customer expansion, sales, and marketing.

Fusemachines develops complex AI-based products and solutions to address both consumer and business challenges. Its globally recognized products include AI Studio, Answer Gen, Extract, and Fraud Detection.

Leadership and Investors

After the merger, Dr. Sameer Maskey serves as CEO, while Kristin Chambers is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The company’s Board of Directors includes Sameer Maskey, Bharat Krishna, Tim Gocher, Sanjay Shrestha, and Salman Alam.

Fusemachines’ investors include Dolma Impact Fund, Future Perfect Ventures, IME Group, Business Oxygen, and Consilium Investment Management.

Over its 12-year journey, Fusemachines has expanded across eight countries — the United States, Nepal, India, Peru, Canada, Chile, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic — providing employment to more than 400 people.

Empowering the Next Generation of AI Talent

Fusemachines has been providing AI fellowships in Nepal and Latin America to train skilled human resources in artificial intelligence. Launched in 2017, the Fusemachines AI Fellowship Program has delivered quality AI education opportunities to over 800 fellows across 12 countries.

The fellowship covers subjects such as AI, machine learning, deep learning, mathematics, and programming.

Who is Dr. Sameer Maskey?

Born in Kathmandu, Dr. Maskey holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science. In 1999, he went to the United States on a full scholarship to pursue a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics.

“After completing my I.Sc. in 1998, I applied to several U.S. universities, and Columbia offered me a full scholarship,” said Maskey. “Since I had studied biomedical science, I initially thought of studying medical engineering — but I ended up choosing computer science.”

During his second year of college, he developed the first-ever Nepali text-to-speech synthesizer, a system that allowed computers to “speak” Nepali text. This was around the year 2000.

He even presented this technology at the Royal Academy of Science and Technology (now NAST), at a time when most people in Nepal had little knowledge of artificial intelligence.

Developing that technology deepened his interest in language processing and machine learning, which led him to pursue a Ph.D. at Columbia University in speech summarization.

During his Ph.D., he worked on several projects, including one with IBM’s world-leading speech-to-speech translation team, where he researched systems that could translate Arabic, Chinese, German, and other languages into English.

Before founding Fusemachines in 2013, Dr. Maskey worked at the IBM Watson Research Center. He is also active in academia, teaching at Columbia University, where he completed his Ph.D. in speech processing.

Dr. Maskey has authored over 20 research papers on machine learning and speech processing in international conferences and journals and holds several patents. He was also the recipient of the Nepali Diaspora ICT Award in 2019.

A Symbol of Nepali Dreams on the Global Stage

The listing of Fusemachines on Nasdaq is not merely a corporate success — it is living proof that dreams born in Nepal can shine on the world stage. The journey of Dr. Sameer Maskey and his team stands as an inspiration, showcasing Nepali talent, innovation, and resilience to the global community.

(Originally published in Nepali, This is the English translation. Click here for Nepali content. Parts of this text have been translated with the assistance of AI-powered tools.)