# About

I'm Aoi Senju, co-founder and CEO of Colabra. I was born in Japan, grew up in New York, and live in San Francisco.

## Bio

I co-founded [Colabra](colabra.html), where our team has built AI software used by research labs and private-equity customers. I helped take the company from an idea to deployed products through fundraising, product direction, and sales. I enjoy the work of building something ambitious and getting it into customers' hands.

Before Colabra, I studied chemical and biological engineering at Princeton, worked in battery development at 24M Technologies, founded and sold Jumpstart Energy, and built the first-generation fraud model we deployed at Mission Lane. [Journey](journey.html) tells that story, including the changes in direction.

You can reach me by [email](mailto:aoi@colabra.app) or on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/asenju/).

## Research

I co-authored a paper in Energy & Environmental Science on zinc-bromine batteries for energy storage. I made the carbon-foam electrodes and contributed to electrochemical testing, analysis, and materials characterization. I am also a co-inventor on the related patent application.

### Selected research

- [Minimal architecture zinc-bromine battery for low cost electrochemical energy storage](https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2017/ee/c6ee02782b). 2017 - Energy & Environmental Science. Peer-reviewed paper on zinc-bromine energy storage, co-authored from my undergraduate research. DOI 10.1039/C6EE02782B.
- [Design and Optimization of Carbon Foam Electrode for Local Confinement of Bromine in Non-Flowing Single-Chamber Zinc Bromine Batteries](https://ecs.confex.com/ecs/f/hrlzochmizkw#page=2). 2016 - ECS meeting abstract. Electrochemical Society meeting abstract on zinc-bromine battery design and optimization.
- [Membrane-free non-flowing single cell zinc bromine battery with bromine-trapping composite carbon foam electrode](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20200036046A1/en). 2020 - published US patent application. Co-inventor on US20200036046A1, assigned to Princeton University. Published January 30, 2020; an application, not a granted patent.

## Running

I ran a 2:58:34 marathon at the California International Marathon in December 2025. My first marathon, in Providence in 2017, took 4:19:29.

In 2025, I finished Ironman 70.3 Victoria in 5:14:51.

### Race record

| Date | Race | Time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| May 7, 2017 | Providence Marathon | 4:19:29 |
| November 5, 2017 | New York City Marathon | 3:29:56 |
| July 28, 2019 | San Francisco Marathon | 3:52:41 |
| December 8, 2024 | California International Marathon | 3:06:47 |
| March 2, 2025 | Tokyo Marathon | 3:27:30 |
| December 7, 2025 | California International Marathon | 2:58:34 |

## Piano

I performed at Carnegie Hall as a teenager. I spent about fifteen years studying classical piano, including competitions, summers at music festivals, and time studying in Valencia, Spain.

When I got to Princeton, I stopped organizing every day around piano so I could make room for research and other interests, but am still proud of how far I was able to develop as a musician.