28.03.2022 07:00, Isabelle Mitchell

The Venture Leaders Technology expert jury had their work cut out for them this year: They had to look through 180 applications to choose the 10 members of the Swiss National Startup team that will travel to Silicon Valley in April. Before the 10 entrepreneurs meet with international investors and industry leaders to strengthen their business network and advance their globalization, we want to introduce you to each of the 10 Venture Leaders Technology 2022: Meet Petar Tsankov, the co-founder and CEO of LatticeFlow.

Name: Petar TsankovLocation: ZurichNationality: Bulgaria/USAGraduated from: ETH PhD in CS, 2017Job title: Co-founder and CEO of LatticeFlow Number of employees: 12Money raised: USD 2.8 millionFirst touchpoint with Venturelab:In 2022, for theVenture Leaders programPetar, can you summarize what LatticeFlow does?We empower ML [machine learning] teams to deliver robust and performant AI systems, solving a major roadblock to the widespread adoption of AI in our daily lives.How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?I was reading a Stanford research paper on verifying the correctness of AI models at my ETH office when I realized how we could develop a massively more scalable approach by leveraging techniques from classic program analysis. This idea led to building the worlds first scalable robust AI platform that works on large deep learning models, which form the foundations of modern AI systems. These results triggered significant interest across the industry that was actively looking into solutions that enable safe, robust, and reliable adoption of recent AI advances.What do you expect from the Venture Leaders Technology roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision?A fun fact is that it all actually started in San Francisco for us. In early 2020, right before the pandemic hit, I was on a three-week solo roadshow in the US, looking to get feedback from entrepreneurs and investors on our product and business model. The Venture Leaders roadshow is an exciting opportunity to go back and meet these people again. More generally, to build our global brand and become the world leader in robust and trustworthy AI, we need also to win the US market. I expect that the Venture Leaders roadshow will accelerate our expansion into the US market.What is one thing not many people know about you?I had my first professional IT gig when I was 14 years old. A friend of mine took me to his brother-in-laws company to set up a couple of brand new computers and printers in the office. Initially, the company staff was skeptical because of my youthful appearance, but ultimately, I got the work done and was then compensated with an ice cream. They actually took me to my favorite ice cream shop, and I cant say I wasnt thrilled.What is your favorite podcast?Currently, I love Lex Fridmans podcast. Lex is a master at asking simple, direct questions, offering an excellent opportunity to pick into the brains of great minds in business and science. I also enjoy Andrew Hubermans podcast, bringing knowledge about the latest advances in neuroscience, human behavior, and beyond.

What is always in your fridge? Lemons. I always start my day with freshly squeezed lemon in warm water.What are you most proud of? Receiving the John Atanasoff Award from the President of Bulgaria, given once per year to a computer scientist for major research contributions in the domain. I know some of the prior awardees and am proud to have my name next to theirs.How did you come up with the name of your startup?The first startup I co-founded was ChainSecurity, which focused on blockchain security. This time, I wanted a less obvious name that is not directly related to the companys business. My co-founder, Prof. Martin Vechev, came up with LatticeFlow. We always wanted to plug in the term Lattice somewhere, which is the abstract mathematical structure that underpins the theory behind our robust AI platform that initiated all our work on safe, robust, and trustworthy AI.What is your favorite productivity hack?Do what you love with people you admire and are proud to work with. Thats the main hack. Also, work on big problems that matter; this is essential to persevere during difficult times.How and where do you clear your mind to stay productive?I run in the mountains for about 40-50 minutes in the morning. This is the best way to detach from technology, pop up from the daily routine to reflect on what is happening around me, and plan the time ahead. Most of my decisions about what to focus on and prioritize happen while running.What is your greatest professional failure, and what did you learn from it?I forgot about a clients deadlinea security review of a crypto token that was about to launchand received a reminder from the client on Christmas Eve. This happened in the early days of my previous company when I was still reluctant to adopt a calendar to manage my time (I do use a calendar today). My co-founder and I spent Christmas reviewing the code of the crypto token, which ultimately had a successful launch and right now ranks among the most-valued cryptocurrencies on the market with a valuation of nearly USD 500 million.For more information and updates on LatticeFlow and the Venture Leaders Technology 2022, follow#VLeadersTechon social media and onwww.venture-leaders.ch/technology.

The Venture Leaders Technology 2022 program is organized by Venturelab and supported by dpd Switzerland, EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Kellerhals Carrard, Rothschild & Co, and the Canton of Vaud.

LatticeFlow (https://latticeflow.ai/) is an award-winning deep-tech spin-off and creator of the worlds first platform for robust AI models. The company was founded in 2020 by globally leading AI rese... Read more

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LatticeFlow: The Venture Leader Technology that enables robust and trustworthy AI - Venturelab