Is Creating a Robotics and AI Startup In Silicon Valley Too Risky?

Is Creating a Robotics and AI Startup In Silicon Valley Too Risky? Find out in our Interview with Kambria CEO, Dr. Thuc Vu on VTV.

As we reported a couple of days ago, Kambria’s CEO, Dr. Thuc Vu, was recently featured in two important television programs which aired in Vietnam in celebration of Lunar New Year. The programs were “The Return Day” and “Welcome Tet with VTV.” Our last post featured a recap of “The Return Day” and this post highlights “Welcome to Tet with VTV.”

“Welcome Tet with VTV” is a special Lunar New Year program organized by Vietnam Television each Lunar New Year’s Eve. The program interviews special figures from the previous year with guests from many fields who share meaningful stories about their work and plans for the new year. This year, Dr. Thuc Vu joined the program and discussed his experience of building startups by sharing his business journey, projects and future vision with the community.

Q: Happy Lunar New Year! There are a lot of things I’m curious about regarding the Ohmni Robot. It is said that the era of robots is coming very soon. Currently, there are many ideas about robots that appear to support mankind. Why did you decide to create the Ohmni Robot, to help people get closer together? Is Ohmni “curing” people of loneliness?

A: Robotics and artificial intelligence are no longer far-fetched nor too strange for the world. However, robotic development has many challenges and difficulties. The cost of producing robots is now very high, but the application in the social environment is very small. Therefore, the opportunity for robot products to serve our needs in life is high. That’s why we want to focus on developing the Ohmni Robot — to bring value to consumers and to improve their quality of life.

There are already benefits garnered from consumer feedback, such as the fact that the Ohmni Robot saved a grandmother’s life when her child was away from home. Ohmni has also helped incurable, sick children overcome geographic obstacles getting to school. When kids joined the class with friends using the robot, everyone was very touched and shared those feelings with us. This is great encouragement for us to continue to develop Ohmni, bringing greater value to consumers.

Q: Starting a project for Artificial Intelligence in Silicon Valley is a very risky decision. Why are you taking such a risk?

A: In my opinion, this is a safe decision because Silicon Valley is the cradle of technology and entrepreneurship and because they have a great entrepreneurial ecosystem to support technology projects. These projects originate from reputable universities like Stanford and Berkeley where they have talented engineers. Plus, Silicon Valley has excellent venture capital funds around the world. More importantly, there is a market of consumers ready to welcome new products and to provide quality feedback on new technology.

Q: You say this is a safe thing to start in Silicon Valley. But is this for everyone? Will everyone’s chances be the same?

A: Of course, the competition is also very intense here. However, I also believe that there is an opportunity for everyone. Wherever you come from, whatever your starting point, everyone can create a startup, starting with a new technology idea.

Q: Could you share your 2019 plans with our Vietnamese Television viewers?

A: We are also building a community of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics programmers and researchers in Vietnam. By bringing educational programs from Silicon Valley to Vietnam to teach students how to develop the most advanced technology products, we will be proud to offer “Made in Vietnam” products and sell them around the world.