Based: Covington, Kentucky
Year founded: 2022
Capital raised to date: $2 million
Key investors: Dundee Ventures,Allos Ventures, Elevate Ventures
Founder(s)/top executives: Paul Ehlinger answers questions below.
Ehlinger’s hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
Lives: Covington
Education: Bachelor of Science in biological engineering, University of Missouri; Masters in biological engineering, University of California
Hobbies: Tasting our way through the great restaurant scene in Northern Kentucky, attempting to make a recipe from every country in the world, and playing golf with my wife and friends.
Predict the future: What company, technology or tool will see a lot of momentum in 2024?
I believe 2024 is going to bring the rise of use-case specific AI models. 2023 has been dominated by the large players like OpenAI and Google releasing massive, general large language models. These tools are fascinating and a major step forward in AI capability, but they offer little meaningful value within common professional workflows.
The following years should see AI infused into every aspect of your workflow — with models that have been trained to solve that specific use case, amplified with your personal data, and constantly improving itself with your continued use.
Why scale your company from Kentucky?
Kentucky offers a wonderfully supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem to early stage companies.
Many organizations like BlueNorth and Keyhorse Capital work to make meaningful potential customer introductions, early product feedback and founder support.
On top of that, I’ve loved building Flamel in Covington because it’s where my wife, Lina, is also building her company, L.E. Psych. It’s extremely fulfilling to be able to both pursue our (very different) business dreams in the same community.
What’s the biggest challenge your company is facing in introducing its product/service?
One of the biggest challenges facing most AI companies at the moment is an explosion of noise and concern. There’s been a meteoric rise in AI companies, so cutting through that noise to reach those in need of a solution can be difficult. On top of that, there’s a general level of concern of the unknown with generative AI. It can feel almost like science fiction at times, so as with any cutting edge technologies, some generally larger enterprises may try to slow their adoption to ensure safe and ethical practices.
How do you stay ahead of the trends in your specific industry?
I try to stay ahead of the trends in AI in a few different ways. A primary one is continuing to engage with the scientists/technologists producing the primary research in the academic arena. Additionally, constantly working with our existing customers and partners to better understand not just what technology is being built, but what technology is actually desired by consumers.
