Greetings World
My name is James Ortlieb and I am COO of the newly minted
EzSeer software company. Our President and CEO is Dr. Tingshao Zhu. He is also the principal inventor of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Software that underpins our product line. The third active partner in our company is Kevin Jewell who comes to us from the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Machine Learning (AICML). Lastly, and by no means least, the University of Alberta is the fourth partner in the firm and has exclusively licensed the EzSeer technology to us.
Although Dr. Zhu has been developing this technology for the past 6 years, and our team has been working on the commercialization plan for 1 year, it has only been since October 1, 2007 that we have been incorporated to do business. This milestone could not have been accomplished without the greatly appreciated efforts of TEC Edmonton's Kim Ito and Jayant Kumar. A special thanks goes out to the best Mentor anyone could ask for - Bruce Johnson - founder of Intuit and Quicken business programs. My personal appreciation goes to UofA Technology Commercialization Professor Dr. Michael Lounsbury for introducing me to the TEC Edmonton team and this tremendous opportunity.
November is already shaping up to be a very active month for EzSeer and readers of this Blog can expect to hear more about our public forums and events. For now I will sign off with a short description of what EzSeer does, and our current marketing aspirations.
EzSeer translates user behaviors into user interests and intentions. Essentially, EzSeer uses cutting-edge data mining algorithms to predict the user’s intentions, that is, it looks over your shoulder when you are on the computer, observes your actions, and through Artificial Intelligence Software determines your true interests.
For example, no matter what other actions you may have taken prior to Googling "Paris Hilton", Google will return to you (excluding sponsored links) about 1 million articles on the California Socialite. If just prior to Googling "Paris Hilton" you were observed to visit say, "Hotels.com" you would still get the Socialite from Google. From EzSeer you would get a Hilton Hotel in Paris. Your behavior gave away your true interests.
We have identified three industries or marketplaces for EzSeer technology and they are: Call Centres like those run by Dell Computers, Social Networks like FaceBook or MySpace, and Online Advertising as it appears on most public web sites.
EzSeer is able to predict the user’s intention based on the user’s behavior, to deliver the most relevant information (CRM, Call Centre, Enterprise Search), or connect users to the most interesting community groups (Social Networking), or present users with advertising that actually appeals to them (Online Advertising). EzSeer can also be integrated with any existing search system, acting as a proxy between the user and any search engines, to trigger the search engine to return more relevant information. In short, we can also make Google return more relevant results.
Currently, we have passed a 5 week, 104 participant study program on EzSeer Technology. What we need right now is an Angel Customer to get us well past the proof-of-concept stage. Our focus to-date has been to find a willing Call Centre but we could start in one of the other market spaces aswell.
I hope that I have imparted a clear albeit brief insight into our ambitions. We also have produced White papers which can more fully explain the technical and marketing aspects of our technology.
If I can be of assistance in answering anyone's questions regarding our company or our products please feel free to write to Jim Ortlieb. E-mail address ortlieb.jk@telus.net
Thank you and please look for future articles.
Jim
COO EzSeer
See what you want easier.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Future of open innovation: Linux vs. Innocentive
What is the future of innovation and can it be predicted and predetermined?
It seems to me as if the technology is way faster than our rate of adaptation to it or our capability to foresee and respond to its implications. The arena in which the game is being played has changed but it seems as if the rules still have a lot of catching up to do and will perhaps never be able to catch up to it. Are we playing a global game with local rules?
I will state my case by considering the differences in the open innovation models and their implications in the case of Linux and Innocentive and I don’t claim to have read many books on the topic but this is what I understand so far.
Looking at the case of Linux (or others like MySQL, or Apache, Firefox), all these products have been created by the independent innovators and have proved to be mutually beneficial, but what about the model of Innocentive? It is being hailed as a great change a great concept that will make the companies more competitive more profitable and so on. But is it really a win-win situation??may be and may be not.
The implications of obtaining solutions through websites such as Innocentive :
- The companies don’t have to hire a full research team, or invest in up gradation or long term investments. It is in a way a quick fix solution for companies.
- One lump-sum payment is given to the innovator, no need to provide benefits and other perks, which means again huge cost saving for the companies.
- The number of supporting staff that is hired for the R&D teams is not needed any more.
- So one can actually run a virtual company with a staff of 5-8 people in a small office space or just from home, by outsourcing, R&D, manufacturing, and admin. Support.( various companies are already doing it, such as Point Therapeutics ( recent news ref. www.Biospace.com)) both as a cost cutting measure and the core model.
This may result into:
- Lesser permanent jobs
- Lesser jobs for the local populations ( esp. in countries like Canada where the min wage is $8 per hour…that’s in Alberta, can we compete with countries with R&D capability of same calibre and wages 1/10 th of Canadian wages?)
- An overall reduced private R&D base ( due to lesser incentive for investment in long term organizational R&D capabilities)
And wait a minute…what about other government policies such as temporary worker policies? The Canadian laws require a foreign worker to have a clearance from HRDC to the effect that the person being hired is not taking away a job from equally qualified Canadian. Recently US senate debated (I am not sure if it passed a bill yet) on limiting the outsourcing, the question is do these regulations apply on companies based on the model of Innocentive?
I know I sound sceptical, when most people are upbeat about the future of open innovation, but either I am grossly misinformed or there is an urgent need to limit the expanse of the open innovation, because we still don’t have completely porous borders and a min wage of $8 per hour (and same labour laws) throughout the world. Waiting to hear your comments.
It seems to me as if the technology is way faster than our rate of adaptation to it or our capability to foresee and respond to its implications. The arena in which the game is being played has changed but it seems as if the rules still have a lot of catching up to do and will perhaps never be able to catch up to it. Are we playing a global game with local rules?
I will state my case by considering the differences in the open innovation models and their implications in the case of Linux and Innocentive and I don’t claim to have read many books on the topic but this is what I understand so far.
Looking at the case of Linux (or others like MySQL, or Apache, Firefox), all these products have been created by the independent innovators and have proved to be mutually beneficial, but what about the model of Innocentive? It is being hailed as a great change a great concept that will make the companies more competitive more profitable and so on. But is it really a win-win situation??may be and may be not.
The implications of obtaining solutions through websites such as Innocentive :
- The companies don’t have to hire a full research team, or invest in up gradation or long term investments. It is in a way a quick fix solution for companies.
- One lump-sum payment is given to the innovator, no need to provide benefits and other perks, which means again huge cost saving for the companies.
- The number of supporting staff that is hired for the R&D teams is not needed any more.
- So one can actually run a virtual company with a staff of 5-8 people in a small office space or just from home, by outsourcing, R&D, manufacturing, and admin. Support.( various companies are already doing it, such as Point Therapeutics ( recent news ref. www.Biospace.com)) both as a cost cutting measure and the core model.
This may result into:
- Lesser permanent jobs
- Lesser jobs for the local populations ( esp. in countries like Canada where the min wage is $8 per hour…that’s in Alberta, can we compete with countries with R&D capability of same calibre and wages 1/10 th of Canadian wages?)
- An overall reduced private R&D base ( due to lesser incentive for investment in long term organizational R&D capabilities)
And wait a minute…what about other government policies such as temporary worker policies? The Canadian laws require a foreign worker to have a clearance from HRDC to the effect that the person being hired is not taking away a job from equally qualified Canadian. Recently US senate debated (I am not sure if it passed a bill yet) on limiting the outsourcing, the question is do these regulations apply on companies based on the model of Innocentive?
I know I sound sceptical, when most people are upbeat about the future of open innovation, but either I am grossly misinformed or there is an urgent need to limit the expanse of the open innovation, because we still don’t have completely porous borders and a min wage of $8 per hour (and same labour laws) throughout the world. Waiting to hear your comments.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Report card on Canada gives it "D" for innovation
Nothing too surprising here as plenty of topics in class revolved around how innovation could be better fostered and encouraged. Article here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070613/wl_canada_nm/canada_reportcard_col_2;_ylt=At9pCvuZ9uVVp2CN6kxVu5QE1vAI
Reasons given in article for lack of innovation:
Not sure I know what the government could do to increase science and technology degrees. I guess it's a bit of a chicken and egg problem. If there were more innovation in private sector, there would be more demand and higher wages for those types of degrees, hence greater enrollment. But I know a chemist who was earning $30k/year with a BSc. and 5 years experience working with hazardous chemicals, while a teachers starts with over $40K/year and 2 months holidays a year. Who wants to be a chemist?
The part about relying on natural resources makes it sound like Canada uses them like a crutch, where I would argue that free market made that the economic driver of choice. Sure exploration and extraction aren't as glamorous as high tech, but Canada is renowned for its expertise in those areas and should be proud of it. Not to mention there has been plenty of innovation in those fields as well.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070613/wl_canada_nm/canada_reportcard_col_2;_ylt=At9pCvuZ9uVVp2CN6kxVu5QE1vAI
Canada's socio-economic performance is mediocre and it lags other developed countries when it comes to innovation and the environment, the Conference Board of Canada said in a report card published on Wednesday.
Reasons given in article for lack of innovation:
In innovation, the report said Canada doesn't invest enough in knowledge and not enough students graduate with science and technology degrees. As well, it relies too much on its natural resources and has a shortage of skilled labor.
Not sure I know what the government could do to increase science and technology degrees. I guess it's a bit of a chicken and egg problem. If there were more innovation in private sector, there would be more demand and higher wages for those types of degrees, hence greater enrollment. But I know a chemist who was earning $30k/year with a BSc. and 5 years experience working with hazardous chemicals, while a teachers starts with over $40K/year and 2 months holidays a year. Who wants to be a chemist?
The part about relying on natural resources makes it sound like Canada uses them like a crutch, where I would argue that free market made that the economic driver of choice. Sure exploration and extraction aren't as glamorous as high tech, but Canada is renowned for its expertise in those areas and should be proud of it. Not to mention there has been plenty of innovation in those fields as well.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Stephen Harper boosts funding for tech commercialization by $1.9 billion to $9.2 billion
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070517.wscience0519/BNStory/Science/home
While this type of funding certainly is useful and has its place, I'm not sure how it's going to increase enrollment in computing science and mathematics. Comes back to the usual issue of how do you encourage business to set up shop in one locale over another. Targeted funding like this seems to me like a bandaid fix and ends up giving only temporary boosts until the money is gone.
Maybe the government would be better off fixing our capital markets by consolidating regulatory bodies and improving enforcement to gain some international respect, thereby improving access to capital for companies.
“Our strategy will seek to expand government and business partnerships so new
investments can move quickly out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. We
will focus our efforts on Canada's inherent strengths and Canadians' primary
interests, including preserving the environment, improving public health,
developing natural resources and producing new information and communications
technologies.”
While this type of funding certainly is useful and has its place, I'm not sure how it's going to increase enrollment in computing science and mathematics. Comes back to the usual issue of how do you encourage business to set up shop in one locale over another. Targeted funding like this seems to me like a bandaid fix and ends up giving only temporary boosts until the money is gone.
Maybe the government would be better off fixing our capital markets by consolidating regulatory bodies and improving enforcement to gain some international respect, thereby improving access to capital for companies.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Brazil Takes Steps To Import Cheaper AIDS Drug Under Trade Law : Chilling Signal to Researchers or Heroic Action to Save Lives?
Brazil does it again, read the whole story on
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=614&res=1024&print=0
"The government of Brazil has issued a license that will allow the importation of cheaper versions of a patented HIV/AIDS drug after negotiations failed to bring about agreement on price reductions with Merck, the US company holding the patent. Merck said it was “profoundly disappointed,” as Brazil’s action sparked a flurry of positive and negative reactions. "
"Thailand offered three compulsory licenses in late 2006 and early 2007 for two HIV/AIDS drugs (including efavirenz) and a heart disease drug (IPW, Public Health, 12 March 2007). Among other countries that have issued CLs for pharmaceuticals are Canada, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia and Mozambique, the Brazilian Health Ministry said. "
Remember Canada did it in the times of Anthrax scare, when Apotex manufactured huge stocks of Ciprofloxacin (patent held by Bayer) ...
Seems like other countries might follow the suit....Novartis is fighting a court case in India for another patent violation...The IP battle in pharmaceuticals is really heating up....
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=614&res=1024&print=0
"The government of Brazil has issued a license that will allow the importation of cheaper versions of a patented HIV/AIDS drug after negotiations failed to bring about agreement on price reductions with Merck, the US company holding the patent. Merck said it was “profoundly disappointed,” as Brazil’s action sparked a flurry of positive and negative reactions. "
"Thailand offered three compulsory licenses in late 2006 and early 2007 for two HIV/AIDS drugs (including efavirenz) and a heart disease drug (IPW, Public Health, 12 March 2007). Among other countries that have issued CLs for pharmaceuticals are Canada, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia and Mozambique, the Brazilian Health Ministry said. "
Remember Canada did it in the times of Anthrax scare, when Apotex manufactured huge stocks of Ciprofloxacin (patent held by Bayer) ...
Seems like other countries might follow the suit....Novartis is fighting a court case in India for another patent violation...The IP battle in pharmaceuticals is really heating up....
Friday, May 4, 2007
Pharmaceutical sector In Edmonton: Is the glass half full or half empty??
The Pharmaceutical sector in Edmonton has still to realize its full potential. with population expected to double in next 3-4 years (at the rate of 10% growth), the need for drug products is going to increase significantly. In addition to that the intensive research at the drug molecule level will demand the formulation of such drug substances, in order to take them from labscale to clinic for trials and market. this represents an opportunity for people in field of Pharmaceutics, Analytical sciences, regulatory fields and training institutions.
Talking of profits, the pharmaceutical sector has always been a very profitable venture with very steady growth rates rivaled only by IT in term of magnitude (not steadiness).
As a personal interest, I am looking into specific opportunities in the field and perhaps prepare a report that can then be used by interested parties. If any of my fellow bloggers are interested in partenering on such a project, please give me a shout......or let me know if such a report already exists...
Talking of profits, the pharmaceutical sector has always been a very profitable venture with very steady growth rates rivaled only by IT in term of magnitude (not steadiness).
As a personal interest, I am looking into specific opportunities in the field and perhaps prepare a report that can then be used by interested parties. If any of my fellow bloggers are interested in partenering on such a project, please give me a shout......or let me know if such a report already exists...
Alberta invests $130-million in ‘the science of small’
What are your thoughts on how these resources should be most effectively used??
The following is part of press release by Alberta Advanced Education and Technology on May 2, 2007. ..
Investing in ‘the science of small’ will help generate huge returns for Albertans, said Premier Ed Stelmach, unveiling the province’s strategy to capture a $20-billion market share of the world’s burgeoning nanotechnology market.
“Our $130-million investment today will help Alberta represent part of the competitive nanotech market by 2020,” Stelmach said. “That investment can grow to an estimated $20-billion in new economic activity, helping build a stronger Alberta.”
Doug Horner, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, said the three-pillar strategy to grow new nanotech businesses, garner nanotech talent and build nanotech infrastructure will propel Canada to be among the top five countries in the world for nano-based economic activity.
“Nanotechnology lets us discover the unique properties of materials and how we can manipulate them at molecular levels to develop products that are stronger, faster or smarter,” he said.
The province already enjoys a solid nanotechnology base because industry, government and academic institutions collaborate on research and innovation. A new $5.5-million entity called nanoAlberta will further that collaboration.“nanoAlberta will guide partnerships with industry, post-secondary institutions and government, and it will look for opportunities to make the biggest economic and social impact for Albertans,” he added.
“Alberta has shown a commitment to the future of the province by taking its investments in nanotechnology to the next level,” said Dr. Peter Hackett, President and CEO, Alberta Ingenuity. “Alberta Ingenuity is strongly aligned with the province’s plans, and we are looking at this as an opportunity to transform the research landscape in Canada by recruiting exceptional people to the province, providing exceptional support and creating exceptional results that benefit all Albertans.”
The province expects nanotechnology will accelerate innovation in Alberta’s traditional sectors of energy, agriculture and forestry as well as environmental, health and medical technologies.
Candace Toews, Communications
Alberta Advanced Education and Technology
Candace.Toews@gov.ab.ca
The following is part of press release by Alberta Advanced Education and Technology on May 2, 2007. ..
Investing in ‘the science of small’ will help generate huge returns for Albertans, said Premier Ed Stelmach, unveiling the province’s strategy to capture a $20-billion market share of the world’s burgeoning nanotechnology market.
“Our $130-million investment today will help Alberta represent part of the competitive nanotech market by 2020,” Stelmach said. “That investment can grow to an estimated $20-billion in new economic activity, helping build a stronger Alberta.”
Doug Horner, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, said the three-pillar strategy to grow new nanotech businesses, garner nanotech talent and build nanotech infrastructure will propel Canada to be among the top five countries in the world for nano-based economic activity.
“Nanotechnology lets us discover the unique properties of materials and how we can manipulate them at molecular levels to develop products that are stronger, faster or smarter,” he said.
The province already enjoys a solid nanotechnology base because industry, government and academic institutions collaborate on research and innovation. A new $5.5-million entity called nanoAlberta will further that collaboration.“nanoAlberta will guide partnerships with industry, post-secondary institutions and government, and it will look for opportunities to make the biggest economic and social impact for Albertans,” he added.
“Alberta has shown a commitment to the future of the province by taking its investments in nanotechnology to the next level,” said Dr. Peter Hackett, President and CEO, Alberta Ingenuity. “Alberta Ingenuity is strongly aligned with the province’s plans, and we are looking at this as an opportunity to transform the research landscape in Canada by recruiting exceptional people to the province, providing exceptional support and creating exceptional results that benefit all Albertans.”
The province expects nanotechnology will accelerate innovation in Alberta’s traditional sectors of energy, agriculture and forestry as well as environmental, health and medical technologies.
Candace Toews, Communications
Alberta Advanced Education and Technology
Candace.Toews@gov.ab.ca
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