Who William Santana Li is
Li, known as Bill, has led Knightscope since April 2013. He has more than 30 years of experience in the global auto industry and in founding and leading startups.1
Engineering at Carnegie Mellon and Ford
Li earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from the University of Detroit Mercy.1
From 1990 to 1999 he held business and technical positions at Ford Motor Company on four continents, from engineering with the Visteon, Mazda, and Lincoln brands to strategy for emerging markets and the financial turnaround of Ford of Europe. He worked on the team that built a new modular plant in Brazil and later served as director of mergers and acquisitions.1
Clients are favoring autonomous machines, AI-driven software, and licensed security agents delivered as one accountable operation.William Santana Li, Knightscope third quarter 2026 revenue release, October 20, 2026
GreenLeaf, Model E, and Carbon Motors
After securing $250 million in internal financing, Li founded GreenLeaf, a Ford subsidiary that became the world's second largest automotive recycler, and served as its chief operating officer. GreenLeaf grew to more than 600 employees, 20 locations, and about $150 million in annual sales. At 28 he was the youngest senior executive at Ford worldwide.1
SoftBank Venture Capital then recruited him to set up and run Model E Corporation, a California carmaker built on a subscription model. In 2003 he founded Carbon Motors Corporation, which he led as chairman and chief executive until February 2013 while it developed a purpose-built police patrol vehicle.1
Building Knightscope
At Knightscope, Li has moved the company from selling robots toward a combined offering of autonomous machines, software, and licensed security agents, which it launched as the Autonomous Security Force at GSX 2026. Revenue more than doubled year over year in the third quarter of 2026, and the company reported a record of about $27 million in renewals, bookings, and client awards.3
The business is still losing money. Knightscope lost $33.8 million in 2025 on $11.3 million of revenue, and its annual report says those losses raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.2
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Photo: Knightscope, The company.
