Luigi Guadagno

Co-Founder @ Luce Labs

About

The world's best chefs are constrained by geography. The rarest, most flavorful ingredients — the ones that elevate a dish from good to unforgettable — are too delicate, too seasonal, or too niche for traditional supply chains to deliver reliably. That's why I co-founded Luce Labs. We're building IRIS, the world's first AI-powered precision indoor growing platform that enables chefs to locally cultivate rare, high-value plants that no existing farm, greenhouse, or vertical farm can supply. IRIS synchronizes harvests to kitchen schedules, delivers peak flavor, and eliminates waste. I've spent my career at the intersection of technology and business transformation — as a 7x startup founder, a CTO building products for Fortune 500 companies, and a technologist who believes AI's most profound impact will be on physical systems, not just digital ones. At Luce Labs, our team includes Oxford-trained plant scientists, vertical farming pioneers, and designers who are as obsessed with taste as they are with technology. We're backed by the Alchemist Accelerator and building from Chicago and Italy. If you're passionate about the future of food, AI-driven physical systems, or the intersection of science and craft — I'd love to connect.

Country

United States

City

Chicago

Industry

Retail

Skill

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Product Management, Robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), Fundraising, Strategic Planning, Software Architectural Design, Architecture, Business Planning, Agile Methodologies, Management, Business Analysis, Requirements Analysis, Software Development, IT Strategy, Business Development, Leadership, Program Management, SaaS

Experience

Co-Founder

Luce Labs

2025-6 - Present · 1 yr 4 mos

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Building IRIS, the world's first AI-powered precision indoor growing platform. IRIS enables chefs to locally cultivate rare, high-value plants that are too delicate, niche, or difficult for traditional farms, greenhouses, or vertical farms to supply — synchronizing harvests to kitchen schedules, delivering peak flavor, and eliminating waste. Our team spans plant biology, culinary science, AI, robotics, and design across the U.S. and Italy, including Oxford-trained researchers with 80+ publications and vertical farming pioneers with 15+ years in controlled environment agriculture. Backed by the Alchemist Accelerator (Chicago cohort). Currently raising to scale IRIS from prototype to commercial deployment.

SVP, CTO

Advantage Solutions

2023-6 - 2025-6 · 2 yrs 1 mo

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Software Technology Executive

Walgreens Boots Alliance

2016-5 - 2023-6 · 7 yrs 2 mos

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Digital Transformation Operations and modernization at scale Product & Solution Engineering Program & Project Management Solution and Technology Architecture & Platforms

Co-Founder

LOOKCAST

2015-1 - 2016-5 · 1 yr 5 mos

Led the ideation, development, and launch of Lookcast, a digital visual story telling SaaS platform focused on fashion, luxury, and beauty segments.

Software Technology Executive

Luigi Guadagno

2013-1 - 2016-5 · 3 yrs 5 mos

Consulted with variety of large and small companies on: Product & Solution Development Program & Project Management Solution and Technology Architecture & Platforms Go to Market Strategies & Product Management Venture Funding Digital Transformation

Founder & CEO

kenetica

2008-2 - 2011-3 · 3 yrs 2 mos

Kenetica, knowledge in motion, focused on helping technology companies define go-to-market strategies including product and value strategy, customer development, business and technology architecture. Customers included companies in predictive analytics, innovation management, crm, erp.

General Manager

fourthcodex

2006-7 - 2007-12 · 1 yr 6 mos

Responsible for fourthcodex's strategy, planning, and execution. Technology development leveraged university research in semantic extraction and reasoning. Supported open source initiatives.

EVP

Herzum

2002-9 - 2007-12 · 5 yrs 4 mos

Managing world wide delivery of HS professional services. Key contributor to development of methodology, technology platform, and agile best practices. Account lead and principal consultant on key customers.

Instructor

DePaul University

1995 - 2005 · 10 yrs

Founder

Kenvio

2001 - 2003 · 2 yrs

Kenvio researched and developed solutions to address the knowledge professional communication and productivity challenges. The first product addressed the overloaded inbox via a patented platform.