SXSW Pitch Finalist: LexSet
The Forrest Four-Cast: March 3, 2020
LexSet serves AI engineers, especially those with limited resources, with a better way to annotate photos.
Computer Vision AI has typically needed vast quantities of well-annotated images to use as data to train the software. Instead of sending images to click farms to be munged into usable data, LexSet’s approach is cheaper and faster: Training Data as a Service. TDaaS uses 3D content to automate the creation of pre-annotated synthetic image data to train Vision AI models.
Their algorithms control the placement of 3D content into custom environments, which can be created in massive parallel variations. The approach allows users to generate limitless amounts of training data on-demand; customizing the camera type, lighting conditions, occlusions, and materials in a training set purpose generated for each application. It’s a powerful way to fight unintentional bias in AI training, which is a massive problem often caused by a lack of diversity in edge cases, lighting conditions, and camera angles.
In January, LexSet, one of 50 finalists for SXSW Pitch 2020, won third place (and $250,000) in Verizon’s Built on 5G Challenge, a nationwide search for solid 5G innovations that could be commercialized using its low latency, high bandwidth millimeter wave 5G network.
See the pitch at SXSW 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.
Leslie Oliver Karpas, LexSet Co-Founder and President, talked about his favorite SciFi writer, the danger of purpose, and his super power to pitch.
What is your top goal for LexSet for 2020?
Launching our public dashboard tool for on-demand training data generation.
Tell us your favorite thing about the being based in Brooklyn, N.Y.
LexSet’s primary office is in the Brooklyn Navy Yard at the NewLab, an amazing startup ecosystem that provides lots of opportunities for pilots and collaborations. It’s also steps away from the Rlab, the mixed-reality accelerator we recently graduated from and maintain close ties with. It’s worth noting that LexSet’s team is distributed with additional team members in Seattle and myself in Los Angeles, giving us great range to take sales meetings all across the country.
With the exception of LexSet, what tech trend is your team most excited about?
That’s easily 5G, which is going to be a major catalyst in the adoption of computer vision, as it unlocks the ability to run very complex AI models in the cloud, which was never before possible. And a big part of why Verizon chose LexSet as one of the winners of its Built on 5G Challenge.
What is the most over-hyped tech trend of 2020?
Crypto….Those of us in AI would love to see GPU compute costs come down, and unfortunately, the success of blockchain-based technologies isn’t doing us any favors on that front. However, we’ve just started to see a decrease in GPU cost due to compute farms buying up graphics cards from failed crypto miners.
If you weren’t working for LexSet, what would you be doing?
Likely working in innovation strategy/new product concepting for an agency or big tech firm.
What has the startup experience taught you about life?
To never be too excited when the chips are up, and too sad when the chips are down.
Which living person do you most admire and why?
Neal Stephenson, my favorite science fiction/predictive fiction author. From SnowCrash onward, he has been an inspiration to so many in the creation of the most revolutionary technologies of the last 20 years. All while he continues to write new groundbreaking tales, as he actively participates in technological innovation as the Chief Futurist of Magic Leap.
What do you think is the most overrated virtue?
Purpose. A recent IDEO article, “4 Common Missteps on the Road to Innovation” by David Aycan, illuminated me to the concept of being “blinded by purpose,” where teams grow inflexible in their thinking by becoming too dogmatic and diminish their ability to truly listen to their customers and interpret data in an unbiased way.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Data-visualization, I’ve always been in awe of those designers who are true masters of both big-data processing and great information design.
What’s your actual super power?
I’m sure my team members would say it’s my ability to pitch. I won four pitch competitions last year alone.
What motto or quote do you live by?
“Each day is a new beginning” — The artist formerly known as Prince
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten — or given?
Collaborate with passion and generosity.
Tell us about something you love.
The Atlanta Braves
What do you do when you are low on energy?
Drink a cold-pressed green juice and go for a hike around the Silver Lake reservoir.
Tell us about a memorable celebrity encounter.
I work out at the same gym as Kumail Nanjaini, and there would be days where I would be in the gym working out across from him, after having watched an episode of Silicon Valley the night before that had already hit too close to home with something my startup was dealing with. I would sit there telling myself, “It’s not real… it’s not real!”
If you were offered the opportunity to colonize Mars (but with no guarantee that you would ever return to Earth), would you go?
Couldn’t say no….The opportunity for my progeny to become the settlers of a new world and pioneers of humanity’s next society is more than I could pass up.
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.
