Delafield | Founded: 2019
Employees: 46 | Funding raised: $17.5 million
synthetaic.com
Corey Jaskolski founded Synthetaic in 2019 after his conservation work with National Geographic inspired him to rethink the limits of artificial intelligence and data. While traditional AI processes require huge amounts of labeled data, the company’s rapid automatic image categorization (RAIC) automates the analysis of large, unstructured satellite video and image datasets without time-intensive human labeling. The result is being able to do things like identify the Chinese spy balloon from more than 2,400 satellite images.
What needs are you addressing with Synthetaic? Is it the same as when you started, or has it changed over time?
Corey Jaskolski, CEO: “Synthetaic is on a mission to build tools that remove the barriers to AI. Traditional AI methods, which rely on large quantities of manually labeled training data to build inflexible bespoke models, are only accessible to well-resourced teams of machine learning engineers or data scientists. We originally set out to tackle the problem with tools that produced synthetic data for training. In the process, we developed RAIC, a platform that bypasses the need for training data entirely. RAIC unlocks the full value of massive, unstructured visual datasets (geospatial, video and image). It enables users to fully explore their data through instant search, categorization, and model-training and deployment capabilities. It turns our world of data into insights.”
What are the next key steps in the development of the product?
“Now that we have built the scalable technology behind a tool that can eliminate the bottlenecks to AI and drive insights in minutes, we are strategically going to market through a dynamic dual approach: establishing a proficient direct sales force and forming strategic partnerships with industry leaders. This next step marks not just a key shift going to market, but a journey towards redefining the AI landscape with innovation, reliability and strategic market positioning.”
What’s the number one thing needed to sustain a culture of innovation and growth?
“Fostering a culture of innovation and growth within the AI industry requires an ongoing commitment to insatiable intellectual curiosity, organizational agility and adaptability. Our insatiable intellectual curiosity helps us keep up with the ever-evolving AI landscape, and our organizational agility and adaptability helps us quickly pivot based on the needs of our customers and partners.”
What could local, regional or state leaders do to better support startups and innovative companies?
“Create supportive policies that encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and risk-taking, including tax incentives or breaks for startups and investors. Support government procurement processes making it more accessible for startups and allocate a greater percentage of contracts for startups and small and medium businesses.”
