Aker satser på AI-startups: – Tok fem sekunder

Einar K. Holt, a 20-year-old computer science student, found studying informatics tedious. He and his co-founder Oscar G. Westbye, also 20, began coding as children. On this Thursday, they are positioned in Aker's "dinosaur building," which hosts technology hub RunwayFBU and venture fund RunwayVC. They are set to pitch their AI startup "Tenki" to Runway's team, including Aker Biomarine's top executive Matts Johansen.

The pressure is high, as Johansen recently urged AI startup founders with promising ventures to contact him. Some have already become part of Runway's inventory. On the replica of a tyrannosaurus rex skull, companies Digel and Tasteforge operate. Digel uses AI to find ways to make factory operations more efficient and monitor them.

Johansen stated it took only 25 seconds to make a decision after the pitch. Tasteforge uses AI to analyze data, generate new product concepts, and evaluate which have the most potential before production. Johansen noted that Aker Biomarine has around 100 different krill products in stores across the US. Johansen also mentioned having a personal AI shopper in Runway, senior partner and technology director Sagar Chandna.

Chandna noted that Runway is looking for startups to invest in and those they can help find customers for. Many of Runway's 15 AI startups work with Aker companies, as well as external partners. The selection process involved interviewing 50 startups to choose 15 based on the types of solutions that industries around them are seeking.

The founders hope this will help attract companies to their system. Johansen emphasized that they welcome all tech innovations, whether through Aker or not. Johansen and Westbye were both popular programmers in their youth but never thought it could be lucrative. Now, they are building and growing their startup, Tenki. Johansen advised the founders to speak with Aker's research and development chief to leverage data from the company's previous research projects and articles. Tenki will continue to grow and innovate, believing in the future of AI.