The world of start-ups is diverse. And so are our participants in the MAX!mize incubation program. There is a wide variety of concepts, plans and goals. Different personalities, opportunities and challenges. No two entrepreneurial paths are the same. But they all have the same goal: To work on their foundation with passion and commitment.
And it is precisely this goal that Partha Ghosh, Valentina Rodriguez Pasmino and Kamil Adamczewski have now achieved. We would like to congratulate them on founding their company NeurCG! It is incredibly fulfilling to see that this milestone has been reached. It is therefore our honour to introduce the team and their success in this blog post.
We interviewed Partha and are delighted to give you an insight into their exciting start-up journey. From the initial idea to the foundation - are you ready for an inspiring interview? Let's go!
"We let you create your digital twin and help you communicate globally in multiple languages, especially the ones you can't speak yourself."
Let's get into it personally: How did you get into science and what fascinates you about it? I was into literature and arts in the early childhood. I loved the creative scope of those subjects. But at some point I saw how precisely one can express one's thoughts in mathematics. It left no room for miss understanding. This got me fascinated.
When did you realise that you had made a scientific invention? How did you feel about it? Well the beginning of the company, starts at a discussion with my supervisor Michael J Black where we were discussing whether the (then) new research direction of data driven generative models were qualitatively as good as procedural generative model. Procedural generative models are theoretically more grounded and offers guarantees in many aspects as compared to data driven ones. I argued, as far as applications in computer graphics are concerned, data driven ones are as good or even better. From then on, it seems like driven models are proving themselves. So the beginning was sometime in 2018. But there wan something tangible much later with a publication that happened in 2021.
What was your motivation to found your own company? To bring in cutting edge AI research to the real world sooner than it has traditionally been done. To bring the common population in touch with what is possible.
How did you come to combine science and entrepreneurship? I think they have a lot in common, actually. Both start with imagining a solution that doesn't exist and there is no guarantee the one you can imagine will work, but you have a feeling you can make it work. Then both needs you to work out the details precisely eventually.
Where do you find support in the start-up preparation phase? Max Planck Innovation, cybervalley, Max planck Foundation, Michael J Black and Bernhard Schölkopf has been a great help so far.
What role did MAX!mize play in this? By supporting us with real money at a very early stage, they helped us approach the whole thing a lot more seriously and give the self-confidence that we are on the right path.
What is special about your topic? I think it is strongly grounded in real need of many multinational organizations.
What are your personal advantages of combining science and entrepreneurship?
"I get to use my skills to make an impact in real life and make business easy for many."
Which topics have made you grow as an entrepreneur in particular – both professionally and personally? Dealing with uncertainty, communication to people from a different background are the two biggest things that I think I have improved during this time.
What milestones have you already achieved and celebrated? Two biggest achievement personally for me is setting up a web demo that everyone can access and founding a company.
What has been your biggest challenge so far? Prioritizing what has to be done as compared to what is most fun to do.
What hurdles do you still have to overcome? AI is a fast moving environment, we have to constantly innovate to keep competitive advantage. The largest next milestone would be to complete a financial year and be self-sufficient.
What are your plans for the future? We would like to be known as the most innovative company in the world.
You have already founded your company and so your time at MAX!mize has come to an end. How will your company's journey continue? Do you attend any other incubation programs or accelerators after participating in MAX!mize? We are part of Max Planck Foundation and Start2 groups joint accelerator program. We are going to get our first customers and employees onboard with their mentorship and help.
What experiences from the MAX!mize era will you never forget? That to be successful you have to be lucky and have laid the groundwork. One can't do much to be lucky, its up to random chance, but one must make sure to lay the groundwork when luck arrives.
Do you have a role model in your field? If so, who and why? I look up to Lilium founders. They a couple of scientists, had a technological idea that they eventually transformed into a great business, I find it inspiring and a source of hope.
Business Idea
Revolutionizing Computer Graphics with AI
Roadmap @ MAX!mize
Batch: #1
Bootcamp: May 2022
Foundation: May 2024
Profile
Institute: Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems
Founders: Partha Ghosh, Valentina Rodriguez Pasmino and Kamil Adamczewski
LinkedIn: NeurCG
Website: www.neurcg.com
Mail: neurcg@gmail.com