Foundation of the month: kimoknow
22.06.2023
Daniela Musial-Lemberg
Founder of the month
Recognise all objects - easier and faster than ever before! The team of the KIT spin-off Kimoknow is building a platform that relies entirely on artificial intelligence (AI) for object recognition and serves as an interface between humans and machines.
What does your company stand for?
Kimoknow stands for the democratisation of artificial intelligence. For us, this means that we aim to simplify access to complex technology such as AI object recognition to such an extent that everyone can benefit from it. In this way, we want to empower people to do more.
Where and how did you get the idea to found the company?
In his bachelor’s thesis, Lukas built an AI assistant that uses AR glasses to recognise various work steps and components and thus supports assembly. This came close to the assembly of IKEA cabinets, where every step is recognised and you are notified if something is not in the right place. The topic was presented at the Hanover Fair 2019 and the interest of different companies was so great that Prof. Ovtcharova from KIT suggested a foundation and offered her support.
How did the founding team come together?
We got to know each other through our joint activities at the Institute for Information Management (IMI). We came together as a team step by step. We tended to be interested in the topic from the beginning and share the same version of it, although we tend to complement each other in terms of special interests and skills.
What qualities do you think a founder should have?
Desire and fun in what you do. Without that, it’s hard to keep going. There will always be events that you didn’t expect. That can become a challenge. If you believe in what you are doing, it is easier to react flexibly and adapt accordingly. You should always see the unexpected as an opportunity.
Question for our start-up community: Do you have any practical tips for other young entrepreneurs?
Build up a network in all directions as early as possible. It’s especially helpful to talk to other founders who have already been through one or two challenges and know the right people to help you. Also, be aware of your goal in founding and how you envision the work.
Question for our start-up community: What would you perhaps do/approach differently from today’s perspective?
Use your contacts from university, friends and family. They are all very helpful and it is always amazing what opportunities and support can come up. Don’t hold back on asking everyone you can for support. Most people say yes.
What are your plans for the future? What are your next big milestones?
We clearly have a plan to build a really big company and challenge the current state of the art. To do this, the next milestone is to shake up the market with the first products and thus reach a large number of people with our vision. This also means that important customers can generate great value for themselves with our products and thus we can make more and more customers realise this value.
Thank you for answering the questions!
