A Large Laboratory that Turns Science into Successful Businesses: DATA H

“Our company created an institute called I2A2 to support young researchers who dream of seeing their research become successful companies.”

DATA H, a Canadian AI venture builder, helps companies to transform accumulated and dispersed knowledge into algorithms, generating new products, services, or improving processes. It operates around the world.

DATA H was established in 2016 and is based in Oshawa, Ontario.

The Silicon Review reached out to DATA H headquarters and spoke to Evandro Barros, founder and CEO of the company. Here’s what he said.

Interview Highlights

Q. How does DATA H help companies generate new products, and services, or improve processes?

Startups are fast and innovative but they have an Achilles heel; they don't have enough data or accumulated knowledge about something to build intelligent algorithms. Traditional companies have data and experience and must use this to their advantage to survive. DATA H helps these companies analyze their data in search of competitive advantage. This can result in a new product, a process improvement, or even a new company.

Q. DATA H builds AI ventures in partnership with the most innovative companies and the best scientists worldwide. Would you like to elaborate on this a bit more?

Our company created an institute called I2A2 to support young researchers who dream of seeing their research become successful companies. We know how difficult it is for scientists to do this. On the other hand, we have companies thirsty for innovation in a world of exponential change. What we do is bring the two parts together to create something that has an impact on the market.

Q. What groundbreaking and proactive methodology does DATA H implement to meet its clients’ expectations?

The various projects we participate in give us a lot of knowledge about common market problems. Companies are always having problems with commonalities, pricing, purchasing, compliance, knowledge management, contracting, security, etc. What we do is keep constant lines of research around these problems; this makes us always one step ahead of the customer's problem.

Q. What new endeavors is DATA H currently undertaking?

We are currently investing heavily in developing new techniques for the application of artificial intelligence in the stock and derivatives market. We have a research team developing techniques such as deep reinforcement learning, working in the automation of decision-making processes for the financial market. In addition, we are starting work in the entertainment market using artificial intelligence to accelerate the production of educational animations.

Q. No doubt DATA H is charting new territories in this segment. Given how frequently circumstances change, what plans for transformation are you pursuing to remain relevant now and in the future?

Our goal is to use technology to shorten the time it takes our new businesses to break even. Speed is an important factor in our business and when it comes to transforming scientific research into companies it can be quite complex. Our model has accelerated this process; what used to take two or three years is now taking a year and a half. This comes thanks to a strong ecosystem created by us and technology to guide investment decisions.

Q. How do you plan to counter challenges that you think DATA H might face in the next five years?

We intend to decrease dependency points. That said, we will decrease financial, market, and people dependence as our investor ecosystem, education, and client portfolio grows. With each successful venture of ours, a new base of possibilities opens up and improves our risk management.

Q. Is there anything else you want us to highlight that we might have missed?

Our mission is to bring AI research advances into the real world for true implementations. We do it for health, robotics, communication, and security. We are a large laboratory that turns science into successful businesses.

Evandro Barros | Founder & CEO

Evandro Barros has a degree in history and music. He was a professional trader in the derivatives market for many years. As of now, he has founded more than eight startups, and in 2021, he was on the list of the ‘50 CEOs of AI’ by the American magazine Innovators. Currently, he dedicates himself to researching the use of deep reinforcement learning in stock trading systems.

“Our mission is to bring AI research advances into the real world for true implementations. We do it for health, robotics, communication, and security.”