No-code AI: Former Microsoft and Salesforce execs reveal new ‘machine teaching’ startup Intelus
- ByStartupStory | December 11, 2021
Machine learning is the common basis for modern artificial intelligence, using large amounts of data to build AI models that recognize patterns and make predictions when presented with new information. A new Seattle startup led by a former Microsoft distinguished engineer uses a different approach: machine teaching.
“It’s not extracting knowledge from data; it’s extracting knowledge from the person,” explained Patrice Simard, CEO, and co-founder of Intelus, who oversaw Microsoft research groups in areas including machine learning, databases, graphics, vision, and cryptography in more than 20 years at the Redmond company.
Intelus emerged from stealth mode Tuesday to launch an open beta of its new machine teaching platform, Duet, which offers a graphical user interface to create AI models from unstructured data without writing code or requiring advanced data science tools. The models can then be used to classify and extract data from text.
It’s the first step in the company’s larger plan to make artificial intelligence more accessible to a wider set of businesses and organizations. Simard led the Machine Teaching Group at Microsoft before leaving to pursue the vision with his own startup after the tech giant decided to double-down on deep learning instead.
Although Intelus is starting with text, it can expand over time to images and signals. It’s initially targeting developers, but Simard envisions expanding over time to serve technology enthusiasts and information workers.
The vision is to enable anyone to “teach what they do to the machine,” Simard said.
About 15 people work for Intelus currently, including seven full-time employees, in addition to vendors and interns. Simard is self-funding the company for now. Intelus was founded a year ago, in November 2020.
In addition to Simard, the company’s co-founders include Gary Flake, the former Yahoo vice president who founded Microsoft Live Labs in 2005. He later launched and led Seattle startup Clipboard, acquired in 2013 by Salesforce, where he was CTO of search and data science. Flake is on the Intelus board and is an active advisor.
Follow Startup Story
Related Posts
