Why did you choose life sciences as the first industry for your AI-powered knowledge management platform, Quartolio?

The reason behind choosing life sciences was a combination of my background and wanting to make an impact on the life sciences world. I have always had a deep love and interest in life sciences and technology, so it was a natural fit to apply AI to the industry. I had applied technologies in the past to help companies grow, but I wanted to do something more impactful. Looking at the wealth of open-access scientific data, articles, clinical trials and patents that were not being utilized or analyzed, I saw an opportunity to create a platform that would allow researchers and scientist to find solutions more efficiently. 

Given the vast amount of data Quartolio collates, how have you built your library?

Our initial focus was through Open Access academic documents, which are normally excluded from the pool of information. We have had a lot of response in the scientific publication industry as well as from industry and academia. In terms of industry, we have had a lot of response from pharmaceutical companies with R&D departments looking to connect the dots between their own internal collection of information.

Companies can access information through the millions of external documents we have analyzed but can also make connections inside their own library. We found that connecting data connects people as well. This creates a networking opportunity for researchers that are working on similar projects. The platform also helps companies source specialized employees based on research and work they have published before.

In terms of upscaling the platform, how has the IndieBio experience accelerated this process for you?

The IndieBio funding helped us scale up by improving our processing. We were also able to connect with great organizations that helped us understand their needs, allowing us to scale and shape the platform. Moving forward, we are raising US$1.5 million, with US$800,000 already in the pipeline. We are also currently looking for the right strategic investor with a similar vision and expertise in the life sciences industry.

What will be your key objectives for 2019?

In January, we are releasing new content onto the platform as well as launching our mobile application, which will allow customers to connect to other information sources by photographing the information in front of them and uploading the picture to the app. We will also be announcing strategic partnerships across various verticals and will continue building our customer base.