Sid's contributions to the industry of generative AI are particularly noteworthy, as he has a unique ability to understand and utilize the latest advancements in the field to create innovative products that solve real-world problems.
The future of AI is Generative
There is not a single antagonistic story on Silicon Valley's most promising and favored frontrunner, "Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)" which is currently leading the race toward a potential platform shift similar to the invention of smartphones and the premature days of the internet.
Global investments in artificial intelligence have been snowballing in recent years. According to a report by Bloomberg, global AI investment has surged from $12.75 million in 2015 to $93.5 billion in 2021, and the market is projected to reach $422.37 billion by 2028. Additionally, Financial Times reported that in 2022 over $2 billion has been invested in generative AI alone, representing an increase of 425% since 2020. Moreover, the global market for AI-augment solutions is forecasted to reach $2.3 billion this year with an overall 17% increase until 2025 according to research by PitchBook.
This surge in investment and interest in generative AI is driven by the technology's potential to create new and unique content and its ability to solve a wide range of problems in various industries. As a result, many start-ups and established companies are investing in generative AI research and development to create new products and services, leading to new business opportunities and possibilities. Furthermore, the increasing investment and attention in generative AI are expected to accelerate the development of the technology and bring it closer to becoming a reality.
Disrupting the Generative AI start-up community, one product at a time
In the midst of everything that's been going on in the thriving landscape of generative AI, a well-versed technology leader and product builder is planting the seeds of an up-and-coming AI-powered start-up company that aims to build innovative products and services, solving real-world problems and making a positive impact on society.
"Software engineering is not just about writing code, it's about managing complexity," says Sid Sarasvati, a software developer and AI expert who has been attracted to computers and programming since his early childhood. Sid's passion for technology and programming started at the age of 9, when he first began experimenting with coding in BASIC.
Sid's penchant for software engineering led him to pursue a Masters in Computer Science from Rochester Institute of Technology, and later joining an early-stage start-up to build products used by millions of people. Throughout his career, he has honed his skills in critical thinking, understanding customer needs and structures, as well as building high-performance teams. He has also had the opportunity to lead and manage large, globally distributed development teams, scaling them from zero to over a hundred employees in less than 2 years.
Prior to his outstanding feats in the realm of software development as a professional, Sid has been profoundly involved with AI and deep learning since graduate school and has made a significant contribution to the field of sentiment analysis. His capstone graduate project in 2012, a Sentiment Analysis Software as a Service (SaaS) backend server, uses a Recursive Neural Tensor Network (RNTN) to provide real-time sentiment analysis of English texts extracted from Twitter. The RNTN model is able to capture the effects of negations in a sentence at different levels, making it a more sophisticated approach than traditional sentiment analysis techniques.
Driven by the desire to build human productivity tools, he has always been inspired by the idea that software engineering is like the "bicycle of the mind" as Steve Jobs put it. It expands the power of the human mind and makes information available with the flick of a switch. He is fascinated by the potential of technology to drive innovation and social change, and this has been a driving force for him throughout his career.
Sid's inclination towards AI and machine learning led him to use these technologies in various startups. As a Principal Engineer at Cogito, he built the machine learning infrastructure and a high-performance 'Compute Engine' that was used to extract and analyze thousands of signals from real-time conversations. Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and recognized for its potential impact on the healthcare industry, this groundbreaking technology was used in clinical settings, such as by clinicians and the Department of Veterans Affairs for mental health issues, and it was also deployed commercially by major healthcare companies like Humana and MetLife to help guide their phone agents to be more sensitive and empathetic on phone calls.
Sid is currently the Vice President of Engineering at JOKR, a start-up that delivers groceries with a hyper-local and personalized approach, delivering orders within 15 minutes of purchase. He is responsible for building the "consumer tech" organization from the ground up, and the platform is now operational in 6 countries with more than 200 local delivery hubs and over 1 million active users as of the latest public data, making it one of the fastest start-ups to attain unicorn status. Previously, he served as the Director of Engineering at Compass, where he scaled his team and drove a company-wide mobile-first culture, and introduced AI-driven product features for real estate agents. He helped launch and scale the company's development center in India, leading to the company's successful IPO in March 2021.
Sid's work showcases not only his technical abilities as a developer but also his ability to lead and manage teams to bring a vision to fruition with real-world impact. His work is a testament to the potential of AI to improve lives and make a real difference in society.
"To me, success for a product or service is about enhancing the identity of the user," says Sid. "A successful product or service should create an impact, align with the user's goals, and add value to their lives." He believes that user experience is a key factor in defining success for a product or service, and as a product builder, he sees it as a prime tenet to a) understand the customer's needs and work backward from there to define capabilities and technologies, and b) innovate on behalf of the customers which means giving customers what they want before they know that they want it.
Sid admits that this method requires taking short-term risks and long-term bets, but he believes that this is the thrill and core driver for software applications, "We can rapidly build, get real-world learning, and iterate, iterate, iterate. It's trial and error with a cogent vision and mission guiding it."
Making waves and tilting scales with Trial and Error
Sid is beginning to make a name for himself in the generative AI landscape. He has been active in the generative AI community as a mentor of Trial and Error, Inc. a cutting-edge technology company that is positioned to make waves in the field of generative AI.
Trial and Error is a technology company, composed of a team of engineers, scientists, and developers, constantly exploring new ways to apply AI and machine learning to automate processes, improve business operations, and build innovative products and services that solve real-world problems and positively impact society. "Trial and Error's approach to AI, guided by the company values, is not just about improving the present, but also building for the future," says Sid.
One such product is Renovate AI, which uses AI and machine learning to automate the renovation process, making it easier and more affordable for people to create their dream spaces, while also reducing waste and environmental impact. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the home renovation industry and make it more accessible to everyone.
Trial and Error have several other products and services in development and are guided by values of rapid innovation, thinking and building for the long-term, leading by example, using a scientific and evidence-based approach to problem-solving, and committed to building a company driven by innovation, integrity, and excellence.
Sid's contributions to the industry of generative AI are particularly noteworthy, as he has a unique ability to understand and utilize the latest advancements in the field to create innovative products that solve real-world problems. Under his mentorship, Trial and Error is proving to become a company that is geared towards excellence by its ability to create products that are both functional and user-friendly.
Similar to Trial and Error, start-ups working on generative AI are creating new products and services and new business models, which will significantly impact the economy in the future. As these start-ups continue to grow and mature, they have the potential to become leading players in the AI space and challenge the current tech giants. It won't be long before the advent of start-up disruptors takes part in the eminent list of the most dominant companies in the technology scene.
Looking to the future, Sid sees the potential for the rapid adoption of AI in many other areas such as healthcare, transportation, and education which have been slow to innovate and keep up with the ever-changing landscape of technological advancements. "I hope to play a role in making that happen," says Sid. "My goal is to continue to work on innovative and impactful products that have the power to make a real difference in society and improve people's lives."
