SXSW Pitch Finalist: Virtualitics
The Forrest Four-Cast: February 16, 2020
For anyone who is looking to get value from their data, Virtualitics offers a unique solution to solve modern data challenges and lack of data scientists.
One of 50 finalists for SXSW Pitch 2020, Virtualitics uses patented technology, based on a decade of research at the California Institute of Technology and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Virtualitics Immersive Platform® (VIP), their flagship product, is an advanced data analytics platform that allows anyone, regardless of their background, to get actionable insights from complex data faster than they can with other BI tools. It blends embedded easy-to-use ML routines, 3D visualizations and insights in natural language. The platform runs on both desktop and through VR. Ciro Donalek, CTO and Co-founder, believes immersive environments are a great way to collaborate with other people and build compelling stories about your data anywhere in the world and in real time.
On January 29, Virtualitics announced the release of VIP 2020, the newest version of its AI-driven data visualization software that enables users in a wide range of industries and government agencies to obtain actionable insights from complex data faster and with greater accuracy than they can with any other software on the market.
The cornerstone feature of VIP 2020 is its “Network Graph” package. This capability allows users to automatically build interactive reports on trends, anomalies, and relationships living in your unstructured data. With the state-of-the-art algorithms, Virtualitics is able to render 3D visualizations of network graphs and compute insights that range from 10 to 100 times faster than other tools on the market.
The company’s clients include Moody’s, Daimler, U.S. Department of Defense, Nestle and University of Southern California.
Dr. Donalek is a Machine Learning, Data Visualization and VR expert who has successfully applied AI techniques to many different fields, co-authoring over a hundred scientific and technical publications. He has also pioneered some of the uses of Virtual Reality for immersive data visualization and machine learning, leading the iViz project at Caltech, and has a patent on “Systems and Methods for Data Visualization Using Three-Dimensional Display.”
Dr. Donalek also has a Minor Planet named after him as a reward for the work done in the automatic classification of celestial bodies, and has been part of the group that built the Big Picture, the single largest real astronomical image in the world (152-feet-wide, 20-feet-tall), currently installed at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
See the Virtualitics pitch in the category of Enterprise & Smart Data Technology, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm Saturday, March 14, before a live audience and a panel of expert judges.
Winners in each of the 10 categories will be announced at the Pitch Awards Ceremony, at 6:30 pm Sunday, March 15. SXSW attendees are also invited to Meet the Finalists from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Monday, March 16. All SXSW Pitch events take place at the Hilton Austin Downtown.
Dr. Donalek talked about meeting John Nash, what he likes about Pasadena, and why he wouldn’t go to Mars.
If you weren’t working for Virtualitics, what would you be doing?
I would still be at Caltech doing AI research.
With the exception of Virtualitics, what tech trend is your team most excited about?
Anything related to AI, extended reality and… Baby Yoda!
What has the startup experience taught you about life?
That life is short and there are not enough hours in a day!
Tell us your favorite thing about being based in Pasadena, California.
In 2005, my wife and I moved to Pasadena from Naples, Italy, to join Caltech for what should have been a 10-month stint. Fifteen years and two children later, we are still in Pasadena and still in love with the city (and with each other!).
Which talent would you most like to have?
Anything artistic. I can’t sing, I can’t play instruments, I can’t draw… unless it’s with data.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten — or given?
Never give up.
Tell us about a memorable celebrity encounter.
Assuming Nobel Prize recipients count as celebrities, I would definitely go with John Nash (remember the movie “A Beautiful Mind”?). He was given an honorary degree in 2003 at the University Federico II in Naples, my hometown. I was sitting in the first row, as a first year grad student in the Math department and got to briefly talk to him. Amazing mind.
If you were offered the opportunity to colonize Mars (but with no guarantee that you would ever return to Earth), would you go?
I should ask my wife first! But there are plenty of places I still want to visit on Earth: It’s a beautiful planet, we just need to take much better care of it.
Look for more interviews with other finalists in this space between now and the start of SXSW Pitch on Saturday, March 14. Visit this page to see all previous interviews in this series as well as a list of all finalists.
If you are an entrepreneur, check out the SXSW 2020 Startups Track, which runs March 13–17. This track brings together founders and funders and showcases exciting new companies, products, services, and business models across different verticals and industries.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
