follow Inc adds Mukunda Penugonde to advisory board

follow Inc said Tuesday that technology executive Mukunda Penugonde has joined its advisory board to help shape followNET and the company’s AI ad platform, followOS, ahead of a planned Q2 2027 launch. Penugonde’s background spans state government, federal digital services, streaming and entertainment tech, and large-scale platform operations.

Why it matters: - follow Inc is trying to build two products at once: an Instagram-based owned-media network and an autonomous AI advertising platform for small and mid-sized businesses. - Penugonde’s experience in large-scale platform, product and organizational transformation adds senior technical oversight as follow Inc works toward a second-quarter 2027 launch for followOS. - The advisory role is non-operational and carries no governance authority, limiting the role to strategic guidance.

What happened: - follow Inc announced that Mukunda Penugonde has joined its Advisory Board. - Penugonde will advise the founding team on platform architecture, artificial intelligence and machine-learning strategy, data infrastructure, and engineering organization design. - The company said the advisory role supports development of followNET and followOS. - followOS is targeted for launch in the second quarter of 2027.

The details: - Penugonde has more than 25 years of experience leading product, platform and organizational transformation across public and private sectors. - His background includes senior technology leadership roles at Disney/Hulu and Sony Interactive Entertainment. - He previously helped oversee a U.S. General Services Administration portfolio of more than $500 million and about 700 technologists. - Penugonde currently serves as Assistant State Chief Information Officer for Oregon. - In Oregon, he helps guide technology policy, portfolio strategy and cross-agency alignment for government services used by millions of residents. - follow Inc described followNET as an Instagram-based owned-media network being built in phases. - follow Inc said followNET is aimed at a funded portfolio target of 350 million aggregate followers across 2,200 managed accounts. - followOS is designed to manage end-to-end campaign execution for small and mid-sized businesses. - follow Inc is based in Los Angeles.

Between the lines: - Penugonde’s appointment signals that follow Inc is prioritizing senior technical architecture before scaling its platforms. - His background in both government modernization and consumer media tech suggests the company wants experience with complex systems and large operating environments. - The dual-platform strategy points to a high-ambition buildout, with one product focused on audience reach and the other on monetization through AI-driven ad automation.

What’s next: - Penugonde will advise follow Inc as the company develops followNET and continues work on followOS. - followOS remains on track for a second-quarter 2027 launch. - follow Inc said followNET will continue to be developed in phases toward its follower and account targets.

The bottom line: - follow Inc is adding seasoned technical leadership as it tries to turn audience scale and AI automation into a connected advertising business.