Academic Sight

Company Overview

Academic Sight is a Turkish company that develops artificial intelligence-powered quality control solutions for the manufacturing industry, with a focus on the automotive sector. The company was founded to bring advanced AI and computer vision capabilities to production lines in order to improve quality control processes and increase efficiency.

Academic Sight’s core product is called InspectAI, which is an AI-powered visual inspection system that can detect surface defects and other quality issues on manufactured parts and products. The system uses industrial cameras and custom AI algorithms to perform real-time inspections at high production speeds.

Products Overview

Academic Sight’s main product is InspectAI, an AI-powered visual inspection system for production lines. Key features of InspectAI include:

• Can support up to 12 cameras simultaneously for 360-degree inspection
• Operates at production line speeds of 40-120 meters per minute
• Uses custom AI models trained on industry-specific data
• Can detect surface defects, dimensional inconsistencies, color issues, and other quality problems
• Real-time inspection and defect detection
• Customizable for different industries and production needs

The company markets InspectAI as being able to increase production efficiency by up to 40% compared to manual inspection processes. It is designed to integrate into existing production lines without disrupting operations.

In addition to the automotive industry, Academic Sight has adapted its InspectAI technology for use in other manufacturing sectors including:

• Metal and steel
• Leather
• Textiles
• Furniture
• Marble
• Glass
• Plastic

For each industry, the AI models are trained on industry-specific defect data to optimize detection capabilities.

Founding Team

While specific details about the founding team are not provided, the company blog posts mention three key individuals:

• Ali Furkan KAMANLI - COO
• Bünyamin BİNGÖL - CEO
• Mehmet OKUYAR - CTO

These appear to be the core leadership team behind Academic Sight, bringing expertise in AI, computer vision, and manufacturing operations.

Problem and Market Fit

Academic Sight is addressing the challenge of performing fast, accurate quality control inspections in high-speed manufacturing environments. Traditional manual inspection processes are prone to human error, inconsistency, and reduced efficiency at high production speeds.

By using AI and computer vision, Academic Sight enables automated visual inspections that can keep pace with modern production lines while improving defect detection rates. This allows manufacturers to increase quality, reduce waste and rework, and improve overall efficiency.

The company has focused initially on the automotive industry, where quality standards are extremely high and production speeds continue to increase. However, they have found applications for their technology across multiple manufacturing sectors that require visual quality control.

Business Model

Academic Sight appears to operate on a B2B model, selling their InspectAI system directly to manufacturers. They likely generate revenue through:

1. Hardware sales of the camera and computing systems
2. Software licensing for the AI inspection platform
3. Customization and integration services
4. Ongoing support and maintenance contracts

The company emphasizes the customizability of their solution, so there is likely a services component to tailor the system for each customer’s specific needs.

Funding and Runway

The company website mentions that Academic Sight has received investment from Robodex, a German automation company. This investment is enabling Academic Sight to expand into the German market and create a new brand there. However, specific funding amounts or other investors are not disclosed.

Academic Sight has also received support from several Turkish government agencies and programs:

• KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of Turkey)
• TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey)
• İTÜ Çekirdek (Istanbul Technical University’s incubator program)

This suggests the company has leveraged both private investment and public funding programs to support its growth. However, details on total funding raised or current runway are not provided.

Competitive Landscape

While Academic Sight does not directly mention competitors, the automated visual inspection market is a competitive space with both established players and startups. Some notable companies in this space include:

• Cognex - A leader in machine vision and industrial barcode reading
• Keyence - Offers vision systems and sensors for manufacturing
• Landing AI - AI-powered visual inspection platform
• Elementary - AI visual inspection for manufacturing
• Neurala - AI-powered visual inspection software

Academic Sight aims to differentiate itself through its customizable AI models, high-speed capabilities, and industry-specific optimizations. Their focus on the Turkish and German markets may also give them an advantage in those regions.

Customers

The company does not provide a specific list of customers. However, they mention working with companies in the following industries:

• Automotive
• Metal and steel
• Leather
• Textiles
• Furniture
• Marble
• Glass
• Plastic

The website displays logos for Ford and Bureau Veritas, suggesting these may be customers or partners, but this is not explicitly stated.

Relevant news

The most recent news mentioned is Academic Sight’s expansion into Germany through investment from Robodex. This was announced in April 2024 according to their blog.

The company also mentions being part of the İTÜ Çekirdek pre-incubation program in 2023, indicating they are still a relatively young startup.

Academic Sight appears to be actively growing and expanding its market presence, particularly in Turkey and Germany. Their focus on bringing AI-powered inspection to traditional manufacturing industries positions them well to capitalize on the ongoing trend of digital transformation in industrial sectors.