Dec 18, 2023

BrightAI and Pelsis Launch Next-Gen AI Flylights Revolutionizing Pest Control

BrightAI and Pelsis joined forces in a multi-year partnership to infuse artificial intelligence into Pelsis’s highly successful flylight product lines, beginning with the popular Cobra LED model previewed in October 2023 at PestWorld in Honolulu, Hawaii. This launch represents a giant leap forward for intelligent pest control, especially for pest control operator sustainability and food & pharmaceutical safety. Powered by BrightAI’s infrastructure AI platform, the new AI flylights have advanced multimodal AI models for automated insect counting, size classification, real-time alerts, and audit analytics.

BrightAI, a trailblazing Infrastructure AI platform innovator, launched its strategic partnership with Pelsis, leading global pest control manufacturer and distributor, at the PestWorld conference. This partnership debuts the next-gen flying insect monitoring technology, combining the market leading Cobra LED insect flylight with automated insect counting and size classification insights through Pelsis’s intelligent pest platform powered by BrightAI’s “virtual master tech” platform. The fusion of cutting-edge AI technology and industry expertise promises to redefine the way we approach pest management, emphasizing early detection, real-time monitoring, and a proactive, sustainable strategy towards less chemical usage. Stay tuned as we usher in a new era in intelligent pest control.

A New Era in AI-Powered Pest Control

“Our partnership with Pelsis marks a significant turning point in the world of pest control. Traditionally, insect monitoring is a manual process, demanding valuable time and effort. Technicians climb up ladders and manually inspect from 25-250 flylights at each site, tallying the number of insects and assessing glueboard conditions. However, with routine service visits, often the discoveries come too late, resulting in costly infestations, factory shutdowns and increased chemical usage”, explained Nancy Li, EVP Growth & Strategy at BrightAI. “Pelsis Digital brings AI into the mix, transforming this process, reducing safety risks in the food and pharmaceutical industries, minimizing damage to brand reputation, and empowering pest management professionals to provide a more efficient, data-driven service.”

24/7 Pest Monitoring with Virtual Master Tech

Imagine having a virtual master technician at every food and pharma location, tirelessly working around the clock. The new AI insect flylight does just that. It acts as an ever-vigilant monitor, sending alerts when insect counts hit a customizable threshold. This not only gives customers peace of mind but also allows pest management professionals to intervene early, preventing pest activity from turning into full-blown infestations.

Leading Flylight Product, Upgraded with AI: Equipped with a high-res camera and AI sensors, this flylight provides 24/7 real-time monitoring of flying insect activity. Routine insect counting truck rolls become a thing of the past, as notifications guide technicians to the exact time and place for glue board checks.
Better-than-Human AI Models: The new AI flylights incorporate advanced multimodal AI models with extensive training and testing and proven to perform better-than-human automatic insect counting and size classification, which provides a good signal for potential root causes and remediations. BrightAI’s advanced multimodal AI technology delivers time-sequenced algorithms to increase counting accuracy particularly on crowded glue boards.

Early Infestation Detection & Proactive Service Alerts: The Pelsis Digital mobile app and online portal, included with the monitoring subscription, provide real-time reporting of flying insect activity while delivering insect count and size categorization, UV source replacement analysis, and temperature and humidity monitoring.
Digital Audit Reporting & Analytics: The Pelsis Digital portal provides immediate and accurate data for trend analysis and auditing needs, effectively reducing the amount of paperwork. The data can seamlessly integrate into existing pest management systems through Pelsis Integration APIs.

The Future of Pest Control

Commenting on the new product launch in their recent press release, Alex Ashmore, Pelsis Group CEO, said: “We’re delighted to showcase Pelsis’ commitment to driving new standards in pest management best practice, by launching our market leading digital insect light trap. The benefits of this intelligent product fit squarely within Pelsis’ vision to help move the sector to a more sustainable way of working alongside nature and our environment, while protecting public health.”

About Pelsis

Pelsis’ vision is to develop sustainable and innovative solutions, providing peace of mind and protecting public health, while working in harmony with nature. Their leading commercial and retail brands deliver innovative pest management and garden care products to a global customer base of more than 4,500. Pelsis employs more than 650 people across 14 sites in the UK, mainland Europe, USA and India, and their international team offers customer service, sales, technical and account support in more than 14 languages.
To learn more about Pelsis, visit pelsis.com.

About BrightAI

BrightAI is transforming essential services with Physical AI, enabling proactive, AI-powered operations. Built on our Stateful platform, BrightAI empowers operators of critical infrastructure to collect and connect data in real time, uncovering hidden insights and enabling smarter, faster decision-making. Stateful integrates multimodal data from sensors, wearables, and autonomous systems to deliver predictive diagnostics, automated workflows, and intelligent operational support. Our solutions serve industries such as water, power, gas compression, pest control, HVAC, and manufacturing—helping service providers and asset owners boost efficiency, minimize downtime, and anticipate emerging challenges. By transforming complex data into actionable intelligence, BrightAI is redefining how essential services are delivered and evolved.

Jul 12, 2023

Inside BrightAI’s Minneapolis Micro-Tech Hub: Culture, Innovation, and AI Roots in the Midwest

Minneapolis: A Thriving Center for Innovation and Culture

BrightAI’s roots run deep in the Minneapolis tech hub, a growing center of innovation in the Midwest. While our team is spread across the U.S.—from California to Florida—nearly half of us, including one of our founders, proudly call Minnesota home.

Over the last decade, we’ve built more than a company. We’ve built a micro-IoT hub in a city known for its balance of nature, culture, and cutting-edge engineering.

From SmartThings to BrightAI: A City for Builders

BrightAI was founded in 2019 by leaders from previous startups, including SmartThings. What brought them together? A shared drive to solve big problems with the fusion of AI and IoT, or what we now call AIoT.

It’s a little bit infectious when you have a group of people who really like getting stuff done and working on interesting problems,” says co-founder Doug Burman.

That same spirit has shaped our Minneapolis presence—and continues to attract top talent.

Why Minneapolis Works for Tech Talent

Doug calls it a “micro-tech hub,” and that’s exactly what’s formed within the city. As more engineers joined BrightAI, a local network of cross-disciplinary collaboration took root.

Senior Engineer Barry Andersen agrees.

When I was looking for a new engineering job, there was no other place in the Midwest like Minneapolis. You just can’t find these kinds of opportunities elsewhere.

With its strong university system, diverse industry base, and vibrant startup scene, Minneapolis offers what many larger cities promise—with more livability.

A City That Feeds Innovation

Our lab in Northeast Minneapolis is home to 18 of our 45 team members. Located near Jackson Square Park, the area blends city energy with a neighborhood feel. Walkability, bike paths, and beloved local spots like Young Joni and Dangerous Man Brewing are just part of what keeps the team energized.

Many BrightAI team members commute by bike—even in the snow. Minneapolis regularly ranks as one of the top U.S. cities for bikeability and green space, with 95% of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park.

This mix of access to nature, arts, and industry makes the Minneapolis tech hub a magnet for creative thinkers and builders alike.

A Unique Culture, A Shared Purpose

BrightAI’s team culture reflects the character of the city. We’re engineers, product designers, technologists—and curious learners. Many of us pick up hobbies like woodworking, gardening, or music in our free time. And we bring that same curiosity to how we solve problems for customers.

We planted the seed with some really good people,” Burman says. “Now we’re attracting elite talent from different backgrounds to do more together.

That culture of learning and collaboration fuels our work in AIoT, where solving tough infrastructure problems takes both technical range and human empathy.

BrightAI in Minneapolis: Small Hub, Big Impact

From summer lake days to winters filled with snowmobiling, skiing, and cozy creativity, Minneapolis offers variety that keeps life interesting. The local arts scene is thriving—from world-class museums to indie theaters and live music venues.

Our Minneapolis tech hub is more than just a location—it’s where ideas come to life. The city continues to shape how we think, build, and collaborate.

Apr 5, 2023

Curiosity & Connection: The BrightAI Team Takes On Tampa

At BrightAI, it’s no secret our people are our best assets, and our teamwork produces truly extraordinary innovations.

However, in-person collaborations have been few and far between for several years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That’s what makes our recent company-wide outing to Tampa, Florida even more special and meaningful. We are confident that there will be a lasting “Tampa influence” on BrightAI’s future.

More than three dozen team members from across the country traveled to Florida for this incredible, multi-day opportunity to meet and connect with each other face to face, experience the local culture, workshop new ideas and much more.

Day 1: Historic Ybor City & Bowling

While January is typically the coldest month of the year in Tampa, temperatures hovered in the 60s and 70s for most of our trip—which is prime shorts weather for a large group of team members who came from shoveling snow in Minnesota the day before!

After checking into our hotel, we made our way to historic Ybor City—a vibrant Latin district known for its boutiques, vintage shops, Cuban restaurants and, yes, cigars!

We took in our first sightseeing adventure aboard Tampa’s streetcar system from Whiting Station to Centennial Park Station. Then we had a fantastic team feast at Columbia Restaurant—the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States, in operation for more than 117 years, and largest in the world with a whopping 15 dining rooms!

From empanadas and crab croquettes to an eclectic cocktail selection and flamenco dancing, our meal was delicious and our time here together was nothing short of spectacular.

Afterward, we boarded a private bus and continued our adventure to Pin Chasers in midtown—with 50 lanes, it’s a serious location for bowlers! We shared some unforgettable bonding—and just a little mischief—before calling it a night.

Day 2: Bright Ideas & Escape Rooms

Some of our early birds kicked off our first full day together in the city with breakfast at the hotel before heading to The Tampa Club for some business.

This 42-floor premier private event venue and lounge features breathtaking views of downtown—from City Hall to the Hillsborough River—Tampa Bay, and much more.

We spent the day brainstorming, discussing and goal setting. We couldn’t miss the opportunity for people to win some BrightAI merch—from frisbees to beanies! Bright Bingo got us up and moving around, and the puzzle break was highly competitive. The M&Ms on every table with our co-founders faces on them were definitely a talking point!

Workshops focused on what we are doing across the business, including operational plans and—importantly—thoughts from our customers.

The corporate yearbook was a highlight of the trip. This snapshot of BrightAI history will be incredible to look back on as the company grows. The book highlighted our team’s favorite snacks, sayings and TV shows, plus broke down what we all really do. We featured our families, our pets, spotlighted a few engineers and—of course—there were awards. (Some particularly amusing categories raised a smile!) There is already talk about this becoming an annual Bright tradition.

The offsite event gave everyone the chance to consider the exciting prospects for the year ahead. This is the point at which the foundation work starts to bear fruit, so commercialization featured strongly in discussions—getting things into the field, out ‘to the world’ and sharing what we do is an exciting prospect for 2023.

By the time 5 p.m. rolled around, we were ready to make our way to Tampa Pizza Company for a very casual family-style meal. Pass the pepperoni!

Afterward, we put our team-building to the test at The Great Escape Room Tampa.

With themes such as “poker night at the president’s bunker” and Houdini-esque seances, these rooms gave us a chance to do what we do best at BrightAI: think critically, work efficiently and shine a light on innovation where there otherwise hadn’t been.

It was also the perfect ending to a brief but enriching time together.

Powered by an Unmatched Team

The feedback from our team had one unequivocal conclusion—they want to do it again! More often. And for longer. In particular, with an extra full day to have even more time for functional teams to meet.

Every day, our BrightAI team leads AIoT innovations that revolutionize industries. What made this conference truly special was experiencing this reality alongside other team members, in person.

Our exceptional team fuels every single facet of what we do at BrightAI—helping a wide range of diverse industries revolutionize processes and unlock unimagined potential as never before.

Optimistic, curious, ingenious, passionate and relentless—we imagine new solutions to old problems, uncover dormant efficiencies and create a truly innovative future for our clients, and the world.

BrightAI is a platform powered by experienced minds with unparalleled knowledge of AI and AIoT. To disrupt your industry and unlock unimagined potential, contact us today.

Mar 1, 2023

AIoT for Dummies

While still in its nascent stages, the myriad uses of Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) technology are vast and constantly evolving—even across industries that have traditionally relied upon manual processes with seemingly few data points to leverage.

With a few simple tweaks, for example, existing coin-operated laundry facilities can be monitored by AI to improve efficiency, and downtime at manufacturing plants can be reimagined with just a few well-placed cameras and sensors.

The possibilities are truly endless.

As ever more data becomes available for industries to interpret and identify improvements, the potential increases for this technology to likewise optimize business processes.

Despite these tremendous opportunities and proven impacts of AIoT technology, however, the term and concept is still somewhat of a buzzword.

To shed more light on its fundamentals, here’s a brief explainer regarding its uses, benefits, and transformative capabilities.

What Is AIoT?

To understand AIoT, let’s first explain IoT—and the connection between the two.

The Internet of Things (IoT) encompasses every device, everywhere connected to the internet and transmitting data to a network. Commercial laundry machines, exercise equipment, HVAC systems, refrigerators, and lights are all encompassed within this—constantly sending signals about their operations via sensors, take-over boards, or laser measuring systems.

However collected, such information isn’t useful to businesses until interpreted.

This is where yet another key concept comes in.

Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) pertains to the application and utilization of AI technology to attain these critical insights from voluminous, often labor-driven data sets.

If they sound like broad definitions, that’s because they are.

AIoT’s uses are incredibly all-encompassing and transformative when properly leveraged across a wide variety of industries.

The Transformative Potential of AIoT Across Industries

AIoT helps industries streamline efficiencies, optimize processes, and harness unprecedented potential for growth and social good.

For one, AI pipeline monitoring helps technicians maintain and plan infrastructure more accurately based on 3D pipe data. Close loop curing and augmented cutting capabilities are also welcome alternatives to relying on hard-to-hire, highly skilled CCTV cutting operators and manual analog curing processes, respectively. All of these help technicians mitigate poor-quality and high-failure costs for damaging laterals during cutting.

This is just one possible solution of the transformative impact AIoT can have in maximizing efficiencies and profitability across industries.

In fact, global market intelligence provider the International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts the worldwide AI software market will reach $596 billion in revenue by 2025, and anticipates $437 billion from the IoT market. Of the two billion frontline workers around the globe, 63% are excited about the new jobs technology creates, finds a 2022 Work Trend Index Special Report from Microsoft.

With 30.9 billion IoT-connected devices projected globally by 2025—nearly double the 16.4 billion in 2022—organizations that capitalize on such underutilized data hold the keys to myriad advantages, helping them stand out and become leaders within their industries.

AIoT: Industry-Specific Use Cases

The number of industries that can leverage AIoT technology verges on limitless.

Here are some contextual examples of how AIoT might be effectively applied:

Commercial Laundry

While coin payments and analog machines are standard in laundromats, AIoT technology enables property managers to oversee machines remotely, and even accept digital payments.

Connected machines and vision AI monitoring technology can send notifications to customers’ smartphones when loads are completed, or opt to add more with just a few clicks.

These real-time visibility, diagnostic, and predictive services yield greater efficiencies and revenues in a sector that previously had very little data to leverage.

Pool Manufacturing

Pool measurement, quoting, ordering, and manufacturing are somewhat arduous processes—typically requiring two professionals up to five hours to manually measure pools, and months to receive the manufactured product. With minimal direct consumer relationships and the need to rely on dealers in many cases, they are also extremely error-prone.

Such a need for accuracy and efficiency is the perfect use case for AIoT.

Using a LiDAR-based scanning device with on-demand AI point cloud, it only takes about 10 minutes to generate digital measurements, create a quote, and place an order to manufacturing—with 99% accuracy.

Businesses leveraging this can bypass competitors by additionally creating direct relationships with consumers for renewal, up-sale, and cross-sale.

HVAC Services

In commercial and residential contexts, the HVAC industry offers minimal visibility into machine issues before technicians arrive on site. A largely reactive service, repairs are further constrained during peak season—worsened by the market’s lack of remote recovery options.

With full-spectrum sensor data, HVAC AIoT monitoring devices provide predictive maintenance and high-priority service alerts—facilitating more proactive service planning and work, for two to three times as many customers.

By predicting new unit sales and leads, commercial businesses can stay ahead of trends, and make informed decisions.

Pest Control

The pest control industry is currently highly reliant on operator labor, which requires technicians to manually count the bugs on hundreds of thousands of fly lights for hours every few weeks. The industry is also facing regulation pressure to ban rodenticide, which has been shown to notably disrupt the food chain.

With multimodal pest monitoring utilizing infrared, visual, motion, olfactory, and connected traps, AIoT technology provides early detection alerts, continuous monitoring, reliable connectivity, low false positives, and long battery life.

This full visibility helps enterprise customers predict intrusions and points for prevention, and assists the evolution of the pest control industry to 100% prevention and zero toxins.

Benefits of AIoT

By mapping relationships based on collected data, AIoT enables organizations to automate, optimize, and refine processes to completely transform operations—shining a light on efficiencies too often overlooked by manual processes.

These capabilities empower businesses to optimize operational efficiencies, improve service, drive revenue growth, fuel new product experiences, reduce capital expenditures, and create greater free cash flow.

Let’s revisit some of these advantages within industry-specific use cases:

Mitigates Frontline Workforce Shortage

Advancements in AIoT help fill blue-collar staff deficits and augment the frontline workforce.

Example: For every 1.8 frontline job opening in the United States, there is one frontline worker willing to work. Further, Generation Z employees quit jobs every six months on average. These trends, among others, have yielded a deficit in the frontline workforce across industries—pressuring CEOs to maintain current topline revenue with half the staff. AIoT supplements these blue-collar deficits and augments the frontline workforce of two billion.

Productivity

Automation empowers organizations to reach desired outputs faster, and without the hurdles and errors associated with manual operations.

Example: Autonomous HVAC anomaly detection, lifespan prediction, and new-install identifications enable service professionals to detect issues with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning proactively, rather than calling after it’s already broken. These capabilities help companies to work with two to three times as many customers and stay ahead of industry trends by predicting new unit sales and leads.

Efficiency

Leveraging data patterns to shine a light on where business operations could be improved revolutionizes efficiencies—empowering industries to function in the most optimized way.

Example: While previously requiring two people to manually measure a pool, it takes one person only 10 minutes when utilizing a LiDAR-based autonomous scanner. Staff can also maintain direct digital relationships with end customers, rather than experience the former slow processing and delays.

Sustainability

Automated functioning streamlines once manual processes—only utilizing the energy needed while minimizing chemical and toxin output.

Example: Multimodal pest monitoring and early detection alerts predict pest intrusion and points of prevention, while helping enterprise customers migrate to a 100% preventative, zero-toxin pest control industry.

Profitability

By saving time, energy, and resources, industries can ultimately save in their bottom lines.

For Example: Real-time visibility, diagnostic, and predictive services of AIoT in commercial laundromats enable property managers to oversee machines remotely and accept digital payments to maximize efficiencies and revenues.

Challenges Facing AIoT

Knowing what data to measure can be a challenge for many companies, even if they have the technology and devices in place to do so—which, oftentimes, many do not.

Even when companies have measured data, there still comes the challenge of leveraging this into actionable insights.

In other words, a key challenge is knowing how this well of untapped data can reimagine processes and unlock value.

The solution: Leading platforms such as BrightAI disrupt sectors with transformational insights that help them optimize essential business processes and become leaders within their industries.

BrightAI’s AIoT platform creates transformational value for traditional companies.

By enabling industries to transform their relationship with people and machines, enterprise customers create better products and customer experiences, and sustainably accelerate growth, profit, and value.

Our unique partnering model makes it possible for any company to adopt and fully leverage AIoT, overcoming the challenges of expertise, cost, and complexity.

BrightAI: Disrupting Industries by Unlocking Unimagined Potential

With so much collected data unutilized, there exists an unprecedented opportunity for businesses and industries to leverage AIoT to unlock unimagined potential and disrupt their industries.

Our BrightAI team has created billions of dollars in enterprise value for our customers by illuminating transformative insights that optimize business operations. We are the minds behind Amazon Alexa, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Samsung SmartThings platforms, among many other revolutionary concepts and technologies.

Leveraging AIoT, our end-to-end turnkey customer solutions generate real-time insights that automate and improve business outcomes, differentiate products and services, optimize operations, and pioneer more sustainable alternatives.

With proven results in months, not years, capitalizing on these transformative insights empowers your organization to optimize processes in unimagined ways, maximize efficiencies, and establish yourself as a forerunner of innovation within your industry.

To disrupt your industry and illuminate unimagined potential with AIoT, contact us today.

Jan 4, 2023

Engineer Spotlight: Ryan Goss

When we asked our team at BrightAI ‘Who is your absolute most impressive teammate?,’ three names received the most votes. One of them was Staff Engineer, Ryan Goss.

COMMENTS FROM COLLEAGUES:

Ryan played a critical role on this project, helping on scoping efforts and swarming technical resources. As a result of his efforts, BrightAI was able to deliver the MVP and receive payment for this milestone in the beginning of 2022. This is a huge accomplishment for BrightAI and for Ryan and the team.

A significant portion of Ryan’s time was spent working with developers. He did a great job in taking high-level requests and translating them into tasks, which allowed us to effectively leverage staffing resources. Ryan exemplified the impact that a strong tech lead can have on solution integration. Furthermore, Ryan demonstrated his dedication and leadership skills by hand delivering scanners to the client, and continued a good rapport with them.

We chatted with Ryan about his background to find out where he developed the skills he brings to BrightAI.

On being in the top three and a ‘most impressive teammate.’

Getting that recognition means more because it comes from people who really care and see you as someone to look up to. I was surprised, because my team is pretty small compared to some others. It was super cool to get it because working hard and being easy to work with don’t always go together. What’s helped is leaning on each other more.

What I try to do as Tech Lead is make tough decisions. I take a practical approach, and we have lots of conversations with our customers.

The thing about BrightAI is that nobody needs to micromanage because we’re all so amazing at what we do. I don’t have to check up on what everyone is doing. You know who the experts are, you throw the balls at them, and they’ll catch them. On the flip side, when you need help, there’s always support.

On using personality strengths to deliver for customers.

I did a project in college called “Smart Tupperware.” It told you what cereal was in it, when it was going to run out, and then added it to your shopping list. I’ve always loved forms of automation. To me, it’s super cool to be able to enable that for more and more people across the world.

I’ve never been one to shy away from difficult situations or questions. Even my kindergarten teacher said to my mother, “Ryan asks too many questions.” I’m not rebellious, but if I see something could be more efficient, I will ask, “What if we looked at it from this perspective?”

Just because I question it, doesn’t mean I have to have it my way. It just means “let’s discuss it and work through it.” You may think something technically is better, and then the customer says no. But very rarely have I said we can make this faster, cheaper, and the company says “we don’t want to do that.” We bring them along, have a shared mindset with them, and travel together.

On being a defining project influence.

I have been on one project for 18 months, so I got to reshape it. It went through a whole experimentation, trial and error process. The overall goal was measuring, but the “how” was left open. There were going to be lasers, and other things, but all that had to be filled in. It’s so rewarding to see the finish line there, get this solution delivered and be used in the field. Now, our discussions have flipped, and it’s about how we optimize it.

The customer was thinking it would get incrementally better. We were talking vastly better. It’s extra rewarding when you get the product to them, and they see it working. This device is 100% customized. Every time, it’s been a process of discovery, finding a solution, and making improvements. Getting to this point is really exciting, such a triumph.

On collaborating to innovate.

We had to reevaluate the project. We were trying to fully automate it, so you would switch a device on and go. We were struggling, and eventually we said, “What is our ultimate objective?” We want to take this and digitize it and be accurate, repeatable, and easy. So we said, “What if we put a human in the loop, because we need somebody there, and we find a way to complement the human knowledge and the system we have and make it a harmonious method?”

It’s important to go watch how the user works, to experience the current operations and hear their “pain points.” We get to see how the legacy world does it, and then we go leaps and bounds over it, finding a myriad of ways to get the process into the digital realm—often accomplishing more than the customer can envision is even possible.

This approach with our customers builds trust. Because it’s collaborative, they have confidence in this device. It’s also a lot faster and better overall, and allows us to get more data, so eventually it will be purely automated.

On being part of a small (but mighty!) company.

It has a bit of everything. Being quite small, you get customer engagement, you get into the code and hardware. I physically get to hold devices in my hand and get out into the real world with this thing. I love that purpose, that perspective. It’s really enjoyable. It’s not sitting in front of a computer all day; it’s getting that interaction. What I like about BrightAI is we are half in the real world and half in the digital world. We’re digitizing the real world, and I like living on that boundary.

On big business versus start-up life.

My previous company had tens of thousands of employees, the majority in manufacturing. It was a giant company with lots of bureaucracy. It was manufacturing, with enough engineering to make the manufacturing better; but not highly innovative, not driving new things. For a while, we had a small start-up within the company, and at that point, we were having the best time. Three of those employees are now at BrightAI and were a big reason to come. I knew the people here were the top, and the things we were doing were exciting.

On working remote.

Our spare bedroom is like a spare parts bin. We have these big suitcases to store things; I’ve got tripods. I have so much stuff, it’s like I have a lab station at home. I do enjoy the at-home experience, and I travel to meet with customers regularly. I’ve seen everyone on our team face-to-face. It also helps that the person I work with most day-to-day is close to my house, three minutes away. We can still get together, brainstorm, get on the whiteboard.

On positive disruption.

I feel we are at a point where AI is disrupting these legacy industries in such a positive way. We’re doing something that offers so much value to everybody in the chain—the businesses, the users who are out in the field with it, and the end customer. Workers can be more efficient; AI is augmenting the situation. Nobody’s speciality is laying down using a tape measure. We are making workers more efficient, and better at what they do. A salesperson could then do the initial visit instead of the tech installer, so it is a better sales pitch. Across the board, I see these value deliveries. We don’t have a “product,” we have a “solution.” We’re making everything better, and that’s where there is such long-term value.

On changing the world for the better.

In an altruistic sense, what I see we’re doing is making the world better and more efficient. That’s super rewarding because, ultimately, efficiency is the way that humanity will work its way through a lot of challenges, whether it be climate or energy. I want to make the world generally better. It’s not just a job, it’s being part of that. I love it.

Dec 28, 2022

Engineer Spotlight: Sam Carlton

When we asked our team at BrightAI ‘Who is your absolute most impressive teammate?,’ three names received the most votes. One of them was Staff Engineer, Sam Carlton.

COMMENTS FROM COLLEAGUES:

Sam is able to break down projects into components and guide the right technology. He is both humble and detailed. He communicates clearly and always follows up. He knows his audience and is relatable and friendly.

In the day-to-day development of features, I approve greatly of his pragmatic approach and desire to keep a project on track amid lack of clarity and definition. Having tangible websites makes discovering holes easier and faster, and Sam is always working to keep the product development cycle moving forward.

We chatted with Sam about his background and his approach to his work. He has obviously made a strong impact in only eight months.

On being the go-to person for web tech.

I was so surprised that I would’ve been in the top three, just by the sheer caliber of folks here. I don’t think there’s a person on the engineering team who I haven’t asked for help, so maybe I’m just always reciprocating and helping out as the go-to person for web tech when they need it.

I’ve been exposed to a lot of new areas of the software development life cycle, and naturally I’ve had to reach out to the subject matter experts in their particular fields for help. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from them through that process. And I’d like to think I was able to teach them something in return, and maybe that’s why the relationships between us have been so positive.

On putting the users first.

I am focusing on the UX, or the user experience, side of our products—the place where our customers actually log into on the web. Think of it like the admin portal, the dashboard that someone would log in to see all of the metrics related to their business.

We’ve been primarily focused on building up what we’re calling a studio. It’s essentially a way for us to monitor our fleet and our connected devices. We are working on one user-friendly app per vertical.

On being in charge of the challenges.

This is my second start-up. I did have a good eight years back in corporate America between start-ups. That was one of the reasons why I decided to join BrightAI, to just go completely to the opposite end of the spectrum—from being just one team member in some small aspect of a large organization, to being responsible for a whole set of challenges.

On going deep into tech.

A former coworker of mine joined BrightAI, and he reached out to me and said, “I’m working at this start-up now and we’re doing some pretty exciting stuff. You gotta come over here.”

One of the benefits with start-ups is we get to choose pretty much all of the technology that we’re using. At corporate America, you’re probably inheriting a system that another team had built and maintained over years and years and years, whereas here it’s all cutting edge, very modern. I like the problem space. It might sound boring if you say you work with laundry machines or rat traps, but I think if you go deep enough in any technology—as long as you like technology—you’ll find it interesting.

On working for an exciting start-up vs. a big corporation.

It’s kind of night and day to what it was like at my previous (corporate) role. There were so many more teams that would have to get involved in a decision to just bring a feature or a new app on board.

You get a sense of impact here because there’s not ten other people between you and the customer that are all acting as some sort of feedback funnel. There’s two people between me and the customer now. It’s about getting direct feedback and feeling like what you are working on has a direct impact, versus playing some small part in the overall structure of the company.

On lightening the load.

Primarily, I’m focused on how it (the user platform) functions. The goal is to make it frictionless to use. A lot of the interactions we’re targeting now are just supposed to be light touch bases. One of the goals of bringing AI into an industry like pest control isn’t to make it so that people have to actually go and check these dashboards all the time. It’s there if they need it, but ideally, they’re getting notifications. If we’re doing a good enough job, they should be proactively notified of the actions that they need to take. They shouldn’t have to be checking the app all the time.

On working remote.

I definitely miss the face-to-face interaction with a lot of folks. There’s no question about whether you can be more productive in certain times when you’re in an office, like strategy meetings, when you can get together with a whiteboard. No software has really gotten that good in collaborative thinking yet—that’s irreplaceable.

I don’t miss all of the shoulder tapping, interruptions and noise you get in the office. Working from home, I can get a solid six hours of just being able to focus on the code, and that kind of uninterrupted time is what really can make a productive day.

I think that speaks to a lot of the trust that we have among the engineering team, because there’s very little micromanagement. We’re depending on each other to all get our work done. There’s a healthy trust among the team, and that’s why we don’t have so many meetings in the first place.

On staying organized.

I’m going on 20 years now as a professional developer, so I just have a ton of experience in staying organized in my day-to-day. I’ve got a personalized system that I use. I have nothing on my desktop, and there’s nothing on my actual desk; because if it’s not something that I actually need to be focusing on or doing, it’s just simply removed from the equation. I focus on only the thing that I have to do that day or the next day. That’s kind of one of the benefits of the start-up. What does the customer need immediately for a launch? We’re staying focused on what matters and getting rid of everything that doesn’t.

On being part of a special team.

I’m just so absolutely buzzed to be working with my teammates. It’s always this incredible enthusiasm of, “Oh, it’s so good, I get to work with so and so, and they’re amazing.” Nobody wants to let anyone else down. It feels like the chemistry is just incredible. It’s very special.

What I was born to do.

I learned how to program when I was in elementary school, back in 1998. I built a little program for the T 83 Calculators for the PI theorem. A squared plus B squared equals C squared. You could give it the inputs for your math homework, and it would solve it for you and show you the work. I shared it with all the other kids in my grade. I made milk money.

I guess I’m one of those people who got really lucky and can say that if you get to do what you love, you don’t ever feel like you’re working.

Dec 28, 2022

Engineer Spotlight: Albert Carr

When we asked our team at BrightAI “Who is your absolute most impressive teammate?,” three names received the most votes. One of them was Director of Hardware & Manufacturing, Albert Carr.

COMMENTS FROM COLLEAGUES:

It’s Albert, and I’d be surprised if many here don’t feel the same way.

[He’s an] excellent engineer, even better person, not sure how he keeps all the projects straight, but somehow he does. We’d be lost without him.

Albert is a special individual because he is a wonderful mix of technical prowess across multiple engineering specializations, blended with humility, work ethic and his desire for success for everyone around him.

We chatted with Albert about his unique role, plus his thoughts on his team and the challenges they face.

An unmissable opportunity.

I’ve been with Bright AI for about two years. It was a very exciting opportunity. The ability to do both artificial intelligence and IOT in a commercial setting just seemed like the right fit for the right time in the industry. The team brought me here. I’ve worked in the past with BrightAI team members, so it just seemed like a fantastic opportunity, with a great company and good leaders.

On the importance of prototypes.

I take things from concept to production. These last two years, having to navigate supply chain issues has been what keeps me up at night. We never used to have to consider designing around supply chain, but now we design for maximum flexibility, so we can use the parts that we can find. We’ve got an amazing small team that is constantly looking for parts. For our size, we’re definitely punching above our weight, and we’re doing everything we can to push our customers ahead.

I also own hardware, which includes building prototypes. A lot of the front-end work that goes into our projects starts in my garage. We often win business by bringing in a model and conducting a demonstration so our customers can see what we can do for them. I really enjoy this part. I’ve probably built over a dozen of these prototypes, and almost all of these are in production, or are currently in transition to production.

On the work being enjoyable.

At the end of the day, I’m a tinkerer, so these prototypes are probably the most fun I have. Supply chain is like a treasure hunt—it’s so rewarding. Being able to chip away at the monumental task it has turned out to be over these last two years makes me feel good.

On big career experiences.

I started working for Proctor & Gamble on large machinery, basically the size of a football field. The plant I worked at had a CapEx of about a billion and a half dollars.

From there, I took a job with an automotive plant and got into that mentality on manufacturing quality systems. In the automotive world, things are very tight, very lean. I learned a lot from companies like Denzo Toyota, and Honda.

I also worked in defense and aerospace on military computers where things were designed for ruggedness, ease-of manufacturability and cost. Lives depended on everything being right.

Next, I went to SmartThings after the acquisition from Samsung. [I] went from just owning hardware to owning hardware and supply chain, and then transitioning into product.

On working remote.

It’s been nice to be able to travel again and be able to get out and see some of the folks. Some I’ve worked with in the past, some I haven’t.

My team’s completely distributed. I’m in Florida, my electrical engineer is in Washington, and my procurement manager is located in Texas.

I’d say at least 25-30% of what I deal with is overseas. So, my role is always going to be a remote role. China has been very challenging recently, due to its Covid policy. I’ve not been able to get over there to do some of the work I usually do. But, thankfully, the tools have gotten fantastically better. I’m in constant contact with the people I need to be at all times. I think remote working is here to stay.

On my colleagues.

I’ve never worked with a team like the one we’ve put together here. It is above and beyond the best group of people I’ve worked with. They’re extraordinary in every way, shape or form. You’ve got people literally at the top of their craft in every single function. Having that type of work environment allows us to implement a lot more things into place faster.

We’ve got a vision and set direction, and everybody’s working towards that. It’s fantastic in that regard. It’s fun working here. There’s not a huge number of people in the world who can say that they are genuinely happy with what they’re doing.

Dec 5, 2022

Bright Minds at BrightAI

At BrightAI, we’re proud to attract some of the brightest minds in engineering and AI. Our team combines technical excellence with insatiable curiosity, solving real-world problems across essential services like water, HVAC, and manufacturing.

We sat down with front-end engineer Sammi Tafoya to hear about her path to BrightAI—and why she’s excited about the impact we’re making. We’re grateful to work with engineers who are not only brilliant and inquisitive, but also energized by collaboration, continuous learning, and the chance to leave a lasting mark on the world.

From Code to Real-World Impact

Sammi’s journey into software engineering began early. She explored computer science in high school and college and now knows eight programming languages—JavaScript being her longtime favorite.

Because it’s been around so long, there’s a lot of libraries built around it. You don’t waste time setting things up—you can focus on building cool things.

At BrightAI, Sammi works on web-based interfaces that power our AI and IoT platforms. But what makes the work meaningful, she says, is the impact it creates.

BrightAI isn’t AI for the sake of AI. We’re solving real business problems. Traditionally, I wouldn’t care what happens in a laundry room or how a pool gets measured—but our teams build solutions that change the way industries operate. That’s amazing.

Collaboration Without Boundaries

BrightAI is the third startup Sammi has worked for, but it’s the first that’s fully remote—and that’s something she now deeply values.

I’ve never worked a fully remote job before, but I love it. BrightAI makes a real effort to connect everyone, and I’ve never felt isolated. Honestly, I don’t want to go back to in-person work again.

She also appreciates the collaborative, roll-up-your-sleeves energy of the team:

I was hired as a front-end engineer, but I get to touch cloud work too. At a big company, I’d never be able to collaborate across teams the way I do here.

Why BrightAI?

Sammi says what drew her to BrightAI wasn’t just the technology—it was the people.

During the interview process, I really liked everyone I spoke with. There’s a mix of intelligence and humility here that makes it a great place to learn and grow.

Whether it’s leading customer demos, solving unexpected problems with senior engineers, or experimenting with new tools, Sammi’s experience at BrightAI reflects what we value most: curiosity, collaboration, relentless problem-solving, and real-world impact.

Join Us

We’re always looking for exceptional engineers and creative thinkers who want to make an impact.

💼 Explore BrightAI careers

Aug 19, 2022

Executive Spotlight: Kyle LeNeau on Full Stack Engineering and Customer Innovation at BrightAI

There’s one common trait everyone at BrightAI shares—a thirst for knowledge and a passion for life-long learning.

We talked to Kyle LeNeau, BrightAI’s SVP, Engineering, about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, why curiosity is essential for full scale tech solutions, and how he helps customers see what’s really possible.

What makes BrightAI able to find solutions other tech companies miss?

A lot of tech companies specialize in one thing, but BrightAI is a full stack organization.

It’s typical for a company to just do hardware, or the cloud, or mobile. The fact that BrightAI brings them all together was a big selling point for me wanting to join the team. Between hardware to software on the edge… to the cloud in the middle… to the end consumer applications and portals—Bright covers it all. So the fact we are able to control the entire stack is exciting. Looking at the puzzle around businesses who need to transform into IoT—then adding intelligence through AI to create AIoT devices—really clicked for me. It allows us to innovate solutions that siloed companies simply can’t.

What advantages do your customers get from BrightAI being full stack?

There are other companies that will deliver one part of the solution to you. For example, they may just develop the hardware. But, in order to see the full value in that hardware, you need a lot of other engineering efforts to get the right data insights out of it.

BrightAI looks at the whole picture from start to finish. So not only do we give you the hardware you need to be successful, we give you the platform you need to integrate it and the applications your end consumers need to use it. Since our team has a wide variety of experience in different products, we can create solutions, soup to nuts.

What gets you most excited about the innovations BrightAI brings to its customers?

As an engineer, I love solving problems. So figuring out how we can solve problems for these big analog enterprises is super compelling. But I’m most excited about the depth and breadth we have in different industries. I didn’t know when I started that I’d be touring a wastewater plant learning about what their concerns are.

Once we start sharing how we can get our customers insights they’ve never had before, that usually snowballs into more brainstorming and ideating on the art of what’s possible. So these analog businesses go from starting a site visit with the attitude, “this is hard, this isn’t possible,” to feeling excited and confident about the possibilities.

Take our customer in the water treatment space that I just mentioned. Right now, their employees use human sensing. Wastewater employees are trained to walk around and listen. If you do this enough times in your day, you start to realize, “oh that fan doesn’t sound right,” or “that motor sounds off.”

They are training humans to do this sensing, but we can do this all with better-that-human AIoT sensors. They’ve never thought about that before.

Some of these places don’t have engineering teams or a lot of tech experience. So when we can come to the table with a full solution, the customer is very appreciative. That’s a huge win. I always like the reward of knowing people are genuinely happy.

You’re incredibly knowledgeable about tech, yet you manage to break down complicated ideas easily. How do you communicate with non-tech customers so well?

It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s a fun opportunity, too. One of the things I’ve picked up on in leadership is that everybody learns differently. So what I find helpful is putting my team in the customer’s shoes and using examples they can relate to.

For example, a lot of our solutions require connectivity to the outside world—and there are a lot of different ways to provide that connectivity. That core concept is the same when you get the internet in your home. Usually, you’re given a router or something by your cable provider to connect to the web. That’s an example that makes connectivity really relatable to someone without a lot of tech experience.

My other method of helping our customers understand what we are doing is communication mechanisms. I’m personally a visual learner, so I always consider if I can draw a picture or illustrate something.

There are a bunch of different ways to communicate an idea. Know your audience, discover how they learn, and figure out what will resonate with them.

You’re part of BrightAI’s Executive Leadership Team. What does being a good leader mean to you?

I think of leadership as being a multiplier, so I try to wear many hats to multiply the effectiveness of my team. That means working directly with customers and working on all the things that go out to customers like applications, the core platform, hardware, and embedded work. And since we’re a start-up, I still write some code.

I try to lead by example, and I encourage my team to communicate with each other. Because we have this full stack nature, it’s interesting to see how different departments deal with similar problems. Someone working in the edge may be dealing with the same challenges as someone working in AI, but they don’t know it. So I try to see across these disciplines and offer guidance.

I try to get different engineers to talk to each other because I know they are going to get a lot of value from one another. Getting our teams to work together and not be so siloed has been a big driver in what type of organization we want to build. We want everyone to be hungry to learn, and to be comfortable with being uncomfortable while something is still new to them. Having a zest for knowledge really embodies the spirit of BrightAI.

May 18, 2022

Seemingly Unsexy PE Holdings May Be Your Next Unicorns

This guest Op-Ed was originally published on PE Hub.

Unicorns are sexy. Laundromats? Not so much. But I see promise where others just see suds.

What if you were to turbocharge laundromats with high-tech makeovers? Suddenly, instead of struggling to generate modest income, laundromats could be awash in revenue, powering their owners and investors to unthinkably rewarding returns.

This isn’t just a theory. My partners and I are on a mission to imbue traditional companies and industries with “AIoT”—a hybrid of AI (artificial intelligence) and IoT (the Internet of Things). And in our first proof of concept, we’ve reinvigorated a 90-year-old national laundry-solutions giant. As we suspected, the spectacular results show how AIoT can unlock the potential in unassuming, solid performers like laundromats—as well as residential HVACs, pest-control and community infrastructure.

These are among the investment world’s hidden gems. Rather than desperately searching for the next elusive unicorn, we’re convinced that PE fund managers might instead have better luck finding billion-dollar returns in the “unsexy” holdings already sitting in their portfolios.

Take your competition to the cleaners

The spark for this idea was rooted in a costly disaster. Our family cabin was nearly destroyed by flooding when its pipes burstand we didn’t learn about it until months later. But what if that cabin had been a “smart home,” which could alert its owners to situations that require immediate attention before turning into catastrophes?

That led me to found my previous company, SmartThings, the vision of which was to make every home a smart home. Shortly after its founding, SmartThings became the largest IoT platform in the world, connecting to one billion devices across 88 countries {we eventually sold it to Samsung}.

In my new venture, I’m teaming up with partners who are responsible for some of the most iconic consumer successes in artificial intelligence—including Amazon’s Alexa and Prime Music. Our combined AI and IoT pedigrees led us to another epiphany: if we joined forces, could we make every business a smart business?

The answer to that question is a resounding yes. AIoT is, in fact, growing revenues in ways—and places—that even we never would have imagined just a few years ago. And for investors, through AIoT, it’s becoming possible to disrupt—even revolutionize—traditional industries, and create a winner-take-all market.

Our first proving ground, that 90-year-old laundry giant with over one million laundry machines in service in more than 4,500 laundromats, 6,700 hotels, and 127,000 multi-housing communities, is a case in point.

What we’ve discovered so far is that AIoT has put the once physical-only business on a path of almost doubling free cash flow out of the business—without requiring any new customers. That’s revenue that was solely derived from the latent value in the business that they (and most everyone else) didn’t even realize was there.

It’s like finding coins under the couch cushions. Except that, in this case, it’s gazillions of coins.

Billions in those bubbles

One reason for the increase in revenue is that customers use the service more now, because it’s a better experience. Patrons can use an app to see if there is an available machine before they make the trip. Or they can see in advance when their laundry is ready. Or they can even pay with their phones.

Not only is it better for the company and their investors, and the end users, but it’s also a win for the employees and management. Now the dispatchers who are assigning drivers to visit the company’s 200,000 laundry rooms can be more efficient in their assignments – no more trips to a remote location to pick up just a few quarters. And managers can better allocate machines to more frequented locations. Or collect data on consumer usage (example: is one locale underutilized on Tuesday nights?) and respond accordingly with new and innovative ideas.

At the end of the day, this laundry solutions provider is an essential consumer-services platform reaching 50 million consumers with something they need, every single week. But now suddenly, with AIoT, we’ve catalyzed profits at an enterprise-value level—more than a billion dollars in incremental value in the course of just one year.

AIoT can unlock this potential in vertical after vertical—that’s the power of this platform. And it goes to show for PE managers that hidden gems are everywhere … if you know where to look.

A New Era in AI-Powered Pest Control

24/7 Pest Monitoring with Virtual Master Tech

The Future of Pest Control

About Pelsis

About BrightAI

Related Articles

Press Release: BrightAI and Latham Bring AI Innovation to the Pool Industry

Press Release: BrightAI and Pelsis Expand AI-Powered Pest Control for Food & Pharma

BrightAI Raises $15M to Advance Physical AI

Minneapolis: A Thriving Center for Innovation and Culture

From SmartThings to BrightAI: A City for Builders

Why Minneapolis Works for Tech Talent

A City That Feeds Innovation

A Unique Culture, A Shared Purpose

BrightAI in Minneapolis: Small Hub, Big Impact

Related Articles

BrightAI Raises $15M to Advance Physical AI

How ComfortAI Helps HVAC Companies Like Horizon Cut Costs and Improve Service

BrightAI Pilots Autonomous Robotics for Water Pipeline Rehabilitation

Day 1: Historic Ybor City & Bowling

Day 2: Bright Ideas & Escape Rooms

Powered by an Unmatched Team

Related Articles

Press Release: BrightAI and Latham Bring AI Innovation to the Pool Industry

BrightAI Raises $15M to Advance Physical AI

Press Release: BrightAI Launches Stateful OS to Modernize U.S. Infrastructure

What Is AIoT?

The Transformative Potential of AIoT Across Industries

Commercial Laundry

Pool Manufacturing

HVAC Services

Pest Control

Benefits of AIoT

Efficiency

Sustainability

Profitability

Challenges Facing AIoT

BrightAI: Disrupting Industries by Unlocking Unimagined Potential

Related Articles

BrightAI Raises $15M to Advance Physical AI

How ComfortAI Helps HVAC Companies Like Horizon Cut Costs and Improve Service

BrightAI Pilots Autonomous Robotics for Water Pipeline Rehabilitation

Related Articles

Press Release: BrightAI and Latham Bring AI Innovation to the Pool Industry

BrightAI Raises $15M to Advance Physical AI

Press Release: BrightAI Launches Stateful OS to Modernize U.S. Infrastructure

Related Articles

Press Release: BrightAI and Latham Bring AI Innovation to the Pool Industry

BrightAI Raises $15M to Advance Physical AI

Press Release: BrightAI Launches Stateful OS to Modernize U.S. Infrastructure

Related Articles

Press Release: BrightAI and Latham Bring AI Innovation to the Pool Industry

BrightAI Raises $15M to Advance Physical AI

Press Release: BrightAI Launches Stateful OS to Modernize U.S. Infrastructure

From Code to Real-World Impact

Collaboration Without Boundaries

Why BrightAI?

Join Us

Related Articles

Press Release: BrightAI and Latham Bring AI Innovation to the Pool Industry

Media: BrightAI CEO Alex Hawkinson on Physical AI and Infrastructure Innovation (Unite.AI)

BrightAI Raises $15M to Advance Physical AI

Related Articles

BrightAI Raises $15M to Advance Physical AI

How ComfortAI Helps HVAC Companies Like Horizon Cut Costs and Improve Service

BrightAI Pilots Autonomous Robotics for Water Pipeline Rehabilitation

Take your competition to the cleaners

Billions in those bubbles

Related Articles

Press Release: BrightAI and Latham Bring AI Innovation to the Pool Industry

Press Release: BrightAI and Pelsis Expand AI-Powered Pest Control for Food & Pharma

Press Release: BrightAI Launches Stateful OS to Modernize U.S. Infrastructure