Associate Professor | Information Privacy and Security Specialist | CSO (co-founder) at Sensei Tech
For many nights, our young company Sensei has been validating the use of computer vision to solve the problem of autonomous checkout. Berlin, August 2017. Our plan for that night was clear: 1️⃣ Suspend a DIY stereo camera 4 meters above the ground; 2️⃣ Capture the footage; 3️⃣ Test the top-view computer vision module. How would we suspend a camera mid-air in such a giant space? There had to be a way. There always is. We just had to find it. We were authorized to use this test site, but only allowed to work in short bursts, between midnight and 2am, after the cleaning shift and before the supermarket restocking, when security would kick us out. And we had to go back there every night 🌙 to do more tests. Inside the massive supermarket, we had a decision to make: quit, or press on. What if we used a fishing line, thin enough to glide over the luminary rail, yet strong enough to hoist the camera up? Or perhaps a long fishing rod 🎣, with which we could literally "fish" the camera into position? The ideas flowed, each one more crazy than the last. Or what if we simply stuck the camera up in the rod without any complicated rigging? 🤔 And then, this one worked. I felt the same thrill I had years ago when I reeled in my first fish 🐟. It has been from many moments like that, from a multitude of ideas, that our company has grown. From the brilliance of incredible people, driven by a relentless spirit of ingenuity and, most of all, the desire to solve what others might consider unsolvable. It's a mindset we call "Forever learning how to fish" 🎣. Today, we celebrate it with you!
How a Fishing Rod helped us catch €15M 🎣 Today we finally announce that we raised a €15M Series A funding round 🚀 Achieving something as huge as this has made us reflect on the journey that got us here and the incredible people who made it possible. Our team’s unwavering determination has been at the heart of it all, ever since our early days when we used a fishing rod to hang a camera on the ceiling. It’s more than just a story - it’s a symbol of who we are and what we stand for: the ‘Fishing Rod Mentality,’ a mindset that has driven us from day one to tackle the complexities of autonomous retail and push boundaries at every step. This achievement also reflects the trust of our investors - BlueCrow Capital, LINCE CAPITAL, Explorer, Kamay Ventures, Techstars, METRO AG, Iberis Capital, Bright Pixel (formerly Sonae IM), Seaya and our business angels Diogo Mónica and João Graça, founders of game-changing startups - as well as the support of our clients and partners who believed in us 🙌 This milestone isn’t just about raising funds. It’s about what happens when you dare to do things differently, push boundaries, and keep evolving. Watch our new culture video to see the essence of who we are, and join us as we continue shaping the future of autonomous retail. 🎬 👇
Architecture Specialist and Researcher @ IPMA | Ph.D in Architecture
1moInspiring