Named as one of CB Insights
100 Most Promising AI Startups
"None of us is as smart as all of us", said Ken Blanchard, and that's a philosophy we're proud to follow.
Meet three of our newest additions to hear what they're working on behind the scenes, as well as their experiences becoming part of the Visionary.ai team.
Ori, you were once upon a time a lecturer, and taught coding to three of our team members. Tell us a little bit about your background.
I’ve been coding since childhood. And my childhood was back in the 80s, so we were really the first generation to have computers at home, back when we barely knew what they were. At the beginning, there were no computer games, so we wrote them for ourselves.
Artificial intelligence has always fascinated me. In those days, there was a lot of talk about it, but almost nothing worked, other than in sci-fi movies. So after my Bachelors’ degree, I started to pursue a doctorate in machine learning, which seemed like the sexiest field in the world.
Those years where I was at university are now called ‘the winter years of AI’, because still, nothing worked. At a certain stage, I got bored of studying, and left research after completing my Masters’. I then started working as an algorithm developer, outside of the field of machine learning.
It was only much later, in 2016, that I discovered that machine learning had really started to gather steam, and since then I’ve only worked in the field of deep learning. These really are exciting times for anyone who is interested in machine learning.
What has been your experience so far of the culture and work environment?
I’ve only been working here for a couple of weeks, but I’ve already noticed something quite unique. One of the things I’ve been impressed with here is that there's a very direct and open environment. You can say what you think without having to worry about any internal politics, egos, or sensitivities. You can give direct and honest feedback, and it will be listened to. This might sound trivial, but isn’t always the case. I much prefer working in a culture of openness, it makes processes much more straightforward, and means you can run much faster to achieve what you need to.
What are you most looking forward to working on?
The field of image and video processing using neural networks fascinates me, as we’re discovering new things which haven’t necessarily been done before. I’m looking forward to trying ideas which have worked for other people, like using transformers for example, to see if it helps solve some of the problems we’re trying to tackle.
Hadas, what has your experience has been like since joining the team?
I recently joined Visionary.ai as an integration developer. It’s my first role in tech, so there have been many new experiences for me. The first thing I noticed about the company was the positive vibe from the people around me. From the very first day, there was a clear sense of mutual support, respect, and care within the team.
Is there anything which surprised you about the culture?
The beginning of the journey has been a real learning curve for me, so I appreciate how much people help one another here. I feel really supported, and that I have experts to turn to with any challenges. When I have a question, I know people will take the time to answer me with patience, and enable me to learn and develop.
Everyone is really driven to develop, and to reach cutting-edge results, which is really motivating. There is a big focus on learning from one another in order to become smarter and more effective, and that’s applied across the whole of the business.
What have you been working on?
Lately, I’ve been working on comparing our image processing technology with other cameras, to assess performance. We’ve just finished comparing our low-light ISP with Hikvision’s Dark Fighter, which is a market-leading low-light camera. At the end of the process, we found that we were able to achieve higher quality results than some of the most advanced technology in the market. Seeing those results was real proof that we’re onto something, and that we’ve come a long way. I’m looking forward to continuing to develop both personally and professionally within the company, and am excited to be a part of it.
Amir, tell us what you’ve been working on lately.
I've been working on building tools to help us integrate better with one of our AI processor partners, Inuitive. My first major project has been building and running Inuitive's SDK on our in-house tools, so that our data collection team can work more efficiently. I've also been dabbling with Continuous Integration tests, so that whenever someone pushes a new version into our repository, we have another layer of ‘protection’ to validate our results.
I love the fact that we are dealing with cutting edge tech. Every day is an adventure where you don't know where you'll end up, and we’re at the point where stack overflow doesn't cut it anymore, because we are at the forefront of technology.
What has your experience been of the work environment here?
When I first joined, I thought that because the company is a young startup, I would have to adopt a ‘lone wolf’ mentality, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much everyone is willing to help one another and pitch in their ideas. My boss lets me have my freedom, but is always there to help and guide in a calm manner, which I really appreciate.
I feel proud to be part of what feels to me like a winning team with a winning mentality. I feel proud whenever I push something into our repository knowing that it will make someone else's job easier or more efficient.
What are you looking forward to achieving?
In my last job I felt that I hit a ceiling. I now feel that I have more room to grow, and experience new technologies, and learn new working methodologies. I also want to feel like I've earned my place among the team, feel that I’ve contributed and "made my mark".