Entrepreneurs / Small Business  July 18, 2017

Artificial-intelligence startup supplies hardware, software expertise

BOULDER — A new tech startup is looking to blend software and hardware expertise for the artificial-intelligence industry.

Boulder AI is founded by Darren Odom, who has 10 years of experience in consulting on AI technology.

In his time consulting, Odom realized that much of the equipment — particularly cameras used for computer vision and learning — worked well in a lab, but wasn’t real-world ready.

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“I discovered a need for a camera that is robust for the real world,” Odom said. “All of the AI-capable cameras today aren’t really cameras; they’re a whole system of pieces and components. As the environment gets more and more harsh, that challenge becomes more difficult.”

So Boulder AI looked to transcend that, developing its own camera enabled with deep learning and deep neural networks, that was also capable of being used in the field.

Darren Odom, founder of Boulder AI

That hardware capability is partnered with the experience and expertise Odom and his team of two other AI experts have in AI software development to set the company apart from other artificial-intelligence firms.

“The main thing Boulder AI can bring is its own hardware and experience to the table,” Odom said. “A lot of consultancies have to rely on other company’s hardware. We’ve done a ton of research on what hardware is out there, and there is nothing like it that is robust and industrial ready to run AI algorithms. The other benefit is with competing products and smart cameras, you have to buy into their system and rewrite your algorithms to fit onto their cameras. That’s not the case with ours, where you can bring your own algorithms and run it out of the box.”

When it came to launching his company, Odom said Boulder was the only city he considered.

“I consider it my home,” Odom said. “We’re here to stay. Even if it wasn’t this hub of intellectualism, we would still be here.”

But a major benefit to Odom was that Boulder is a scene for technology and AI development, with universities such as the University of Colorado Boulder and the Colorado School of Mines in nearby Golden, which specializes in engineering.

“There’s a talent pool here,” Odom said. “Boulder is a huge up-and-coming hub, similar to Silicon Valley.”

 

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