Join us for another episode of Machine Learning on the Edge, Edge Impulse CEO Zach Shelby sits down with technology and business leaders to discuss their journeys and explore how data and machine learning are having a huge impact on real industries.
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In this episode, Shelby sits down with Kate Kallot, founder and CEO of Amini, to talk about her company's endeavors in Africa, including launching the first African-specific satellite constellation, designed to help solve Africa's environmental data scarcity using, in part, AI.
Listen to the podcast version of the interview
Kallot has had an impressive career, spanning from Intel to Arm to NVIDIA, to now launching her own initiatives with Kenya-based Amini. Along the way she has garnered numerous accolades, including, most recently, being named one of Time's "100 Most Influential People in AI."
Comments from Kallot from the interview:
On her inspiration and drive to focus on Africa and emerging markets: "I just want to go where I'm the most needed...my grandfather's journey and my family's story, then my technology journey, and also my drive to have an impact on this world...that's when I decided to start focusing on Africa and on the emerging markets."
On the importance of diversity in startups: "For startups to succeed, or succeed in driving innovation, you need diversity, you need diversity of backgrounds, you need diversity of thoughts, because what we build is what looks like us...So when you build a startup, actually, you build in kind of a version of yourself."
On creating a company that reflects personal passion and problem-solving: "Amini...it's actually a combination of everything I've done before...it's a version of myself that solving a problem that I'm passionate about, and driven, and I really want to be solving for the continent."
On the necessity of understanding regional issues for effective problem-solving: "You really need to be inside that problem, understand it have team members who are who are understanding that problem inside and out. You can't really solve it from the outside."
On the data scarcity problem in Africa: "Africa hasn't been able to develop itself the past couple of years, is because of the lack of this environmental data...the lack of data has hampered a lot of the investments because you know, data creates trust, data creates transparency, creates trust, and then ultimately, foster investments and economic development."
On the unique approach to solving data scarcity with technology: "We're about to launch Africa's first constellation of nano satellites that will be solely dedicated to monitoring environmental data across the entire continent...by doing edge processing, but this time in orbit."