Exploring the Infinite Prospects of Computer Vision AI with Matt Zeiler

Today’s guest is Matt Zeiler, Founder, and CEO of Clarifai. Clarifai is one of the first startups to apply modern deep learning for image recognition. Their tools are currently used by clients like Staples, OpenTable, and the US Department of Defense (DoD). In this episode, Matt sheds light on the company’s founding story and how an internship at Google was the catalyst for the creation of Clarifai. He also talks about what it’s like competing against industry giants like Facebook and Google. Clarifai’s algorithm and their ability to collaborate rather than compete with their clients truly sets them apart. Matt also sheds light on the benefits of the network effect for both the customers and the company. Matt talks about some of the interesting use cases of their technology, like Trivago, which uses image recognition to organize hotel photos or how the DoD uses it in natural disaster recovery. Matt believes that AI is a great service to the government in helping citizens in many ways, and Clarifai is incredibly proud to be a partner. Tune in to learn more about AI image recognition and be inspired by Matt.   Key Points From This Episode: Learn more about Matt’s background, his Ph.D., and what ultimately led him to start Clarifai. Seven years on: Clarifai’s products, their customers and how they use the products. Some of the other applications of AI that Clarifai is potentially interested in getting into. How Clarifai aims to gain a competitive advantage. Why the API model works so well in the AI image recognition space. The different mix of products Clarifai customers use and why they choose them. Learn about the benefits that customers get from sharing their information on Clarifai. Why there is not really a limit to how large Clarifai’s model can grow. Where Matt sees Clarifai’s potential labeling feature taking the company in the future. Matt’s experience of working with the government and why he is proud to work with them. How AI could be used in natural disaster recovery efforts. The potential of video in the space, the neural network structures, and various use cases. Matt’s insights into the AI competition between the US and China.   Tweetables: “At Clarifai, we don’t compete with our customers. We want to be seen as that partner that is going to take your data, learn from it to solve your business problems together.” — @mattzeiler “Trust your gut. There’s a lot of decisions you have to make as CEO, and you have to realize that most other people in the organization or people you’re asking for advice just don’t have the context that you have.” — @mattzeiler “I really think that AI is going to be better than humans in so many different ways, and it’s already better than humans in a lot of ways for very specific use cases.” — @mattzeiler