Blog post

AI Roots supporting Groke Technologies

By Iiris Lahti
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Groke Technologies is a company focused on multi-sensor-based and intelligent voyage advisory systems, supporting all stakeholders involved in vessel operation. Groke has a highly data-intensive product and data is a central factor of their system. As an example, they have collected millions of images from the oceans around the world. From the beginning, it was clear that Groke’s demands for data collection, quality, and partners were going to be high. According to Juha Rokka, the Co-Founder and CEO of Groke Technologies, data is their greatest asset. “We have a real-time system, and we must process all data on a millisecond level. Our system is continuously learning, so collecting data and developing the system based on that is a cornerstone of our operation.” Rokka describes that their system is based on three main building blocks, artificial intelligence, sensor fusion based on machine learning, and the user interface. Utilizing data to develop the system has been a continuous learning journey, of which AI Roots has been part.

A partnership of like-minded companies

Groke and AI Roots are companies of the same age, both founded in 2019. Around this time, the companies also started their cooperation. From the beginning, Rokka appreciated AI Roots’ experience in the start-up world and the capability to move things forward fast.
“Our cooperation started with the right tone right away. I liked AI Roots’ concept and the way they do things. An agile operation model is extremely important for us since our needs are always acute. I also value that people at AI Roots understand the start-up world and have done things on a big scale, but also very practically”, Rokka describes.
As a result of their cooperation, Groke has been able to develop a strong internal data team and competence, which according to Rokka, is particularly important for them. AI Roots also delivered Groke the role of Data Science Lead, whose input receives praise from Rokka.



 Exploring the possibilities of ML

In the future Groke aims to invest in exploring the possibilities of machine learning and how they can further expand ML capabilities in data analytics and on the vessels. In this, the expertise of AI Roots is valued. 
”Whenever there are new ideas regarding ML or AI, I usually discuss with AI Roots first. Then you know the level of expertise is there from the beginning”, Rokka states.
Iiris Lahti, the Founding Partner of AI Roots, is also looking forward to the future of their cooperation, with which Lahti has been very pleased. ”Our partnership represents an ideal partnership model in which we can grow together and develop cooperation along with the changing situations, needs, and products”, Lahti says.
“We have people with Ph.D. background, but also very practical people who have been working in manufacturing long before us. Also, we have people straight from the school bench and others that are the age of 50+. What is in common is that our people want to see the results of their work very concretely”, Juha Rokka describes. Another layer of having a diverse team is utilizing people outside the organization.
“It is good to have external people who can give us a third-party opinion. With AI Roots we can always have an open discussion when new ideas emerge”, Rokka concludes.
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