Sensori.AI is the only company that is blending Generative AI, Neuroscience, and ML to help companies change how they innovate products. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Sensori.ai founder and CEO Dr. A.K. Pradeep to learn more about the company.
Dr. A.K. Pradeep’s Background
Dr. A. K. Pradeep is the founder and CEO of Sensori.AI and is one of the world’s leading experts on applied neuroscience and artificial intelligence. And he is a highly successful serial entrepreneur, having founded NeuroFocus (acquired by Nielsen) and BoardVantage (acquired by Nasdaq). Plus, Dr. Pradeep has over 90 patents and has written four books: The Buying Brain, Ai for Marketing and Product Innovation, Governance: 6 Easy Pieces, and Neuro AI: How to Win the Minds of Consumers Using Neuroscience-Powered Gen AI. Dr. Pradeep said:
“I am what Silicon Valley calls ‘a serial entrepreneur’ — I have been fortunate to have hit upon useful ideas, and had an amazing set of people work with me in making them market successes.”
“The ‘connective tissue’ between them is that they’ve all pioneered a core innovation in their specific field. BoardVantage created a digital platform for Boards of Directors—something which had never existed before, and it was an early example of what has become known as SAAS–software as a service. The company was acquired by NASDAQ.”
“NeuroFocus was the pioneer in neuromarketing. Working with some of the world’s top experts in neuroscience we pioneered the application of EEG technology into reading the minds of people as they reacted to marketing and messaging. The end result was a breakthrough that many major companies across the world sought to use. The company was acquired by Nielsen.”
“machineVantage leveraged the power of metaphors, among other key resources, to enable innovation and to create products and marketing that resonated deeply with consumers. Metaphors are the ‘language of the non-conscious’, so extremely important in reaching and persuading consumers.”
“Out of this accumulated body of knowledge and experience came Sensori.Ai. Because we know how powerful a force the non-conscious is, we saw the opportunity to blend neuroscience knowledge with GenAi, to deliver solutions to clients that are unique and tailored tightly to their business objectives. The results speak for themselves—we work with a number of the top companies in their categories, worldwide, helping spur innovation and delivering very specific solutions, ranging from new product concepts to packaging, new fragrances and flavors, marketing messaging, music, and much more.”
Formation Of Sensori.AI
How did the concept for Sensori.ai originate, and what was the inspiration behind its focus on sensory data and AI? Dr. Pradeep shared:
“Several years ago we cracked a 2,000-year-old puzzle: how does the brain process music, and what drives the emotions that music evokes in the non-conscious mind? Our body of neuroscience knowledge, combined with our bleeding-edge digital technological know-how, enabled us to divine the answers—second-by-second!”
“That leads to a larger focus on our five senses. Our expertise told us that concentrating on these core drivers of our daily lives would deliver insights and practical innovations that clients could apply immediately, knowing that they would resonate at the deepest non-conscious levels—which is where 95% of consumers’ decisions are made. Cartels of a handful of companies control the world’s fragrance and flavor today. We set about democratizing the design of fragrance and flavor. We translated our understanding of Music from a Neuroscience perspective to creating music that would appeal to the brain.”
“Neuroscience always had a challenge in being able to scale diligently. When GenAi exploded to deliver at scale, the opportunity was immediately clear: blend the two, and we could deliver neuroscience grounded innovations at record speed and accuracy, while having full confidence that they would connect with consumers’ non-conscious minds.”
“From the outset we put ‘humanity’ at the center of our work. Our senses inform and delight and reward us, and that is when we realized all of our work must be human-centric. Groundbreaking innovations must place at their center the elements of humanity that are really only understood through neuroscience.”
“Understanding what makes us human is what neuroscience teaches, and those lessons should be the central theme of how we apply Ai. That is why we decided to converge neuroscience and Generative Ai. because we felt that powering Ai with neuroscientific knowledge of the core elements of our senses—at the heart of what being human is—would mean empowering our algorithms with that latent core humanity, so the algorithms of GenAi will have human DNA in them.”
“That is our ‘sweet spot’, and it’s what makes sensori.ai the only company in the world marrying these two fundamental forces that companies can rely on for the most relevant, most powerful, and most effective solutions to their marketplace challenges.”
Rewarding Experience
What has been your most rewarding experience at Sensori.ai, particularly in relation to the company’s innovative projects? Dr. Pradeep reflected:
“My most rewarding experience at Sensori.Ai is in seeing that the neuroscience-powered GenAI based algorithms could empower both me and the companies I work with to innovate in ways I never thought possible.”
“One time, a chief product officer of a company said to me, ‘I want your algorithms to innovate in the domain of ready to eat meals.’ Then, when I asked him to give me a category they could be inspired by. ‘Have your algorithms be inspired by deodorants.” So I thought to myself, ‘what could you possibly come up with in the world of ready to eat meals that is inspired by a product that mitigates the odor of armpits? I have 90+ patents, and consider myself a pretty creative person.’ Those two things don’t just seem to go together.”
“Our algorithms gave us this: ‘imagine a ready to eat meal that has on the outside of the package a scratch and sniff flap that you can smell the aroma of the potential cooked meal’ It was stunning for both the chief product officer and for me!”
“There was another time where the Chief Marketing officer of one of the country’s largest mortgage companies said, “Ok, I want you to create a new mortgage product, but I want you to be inspired by credit cards!” Again, I wondered what my algorithms would come up with. The neuroscience-powered algorithms replied: “Hey listen, here is a family first mortgage where every time you pay your mortgage on time you get points that you could apply towards a family vacation.” It never occurred to me that the same way your credit cards give you points for payments of various purchases you do every time you make a mortgage payment, you could get points that could be applied towards a family vacation.”
“Bringing real innovations to transform and enrich humanity is the core of what gives me joy – the algorithms of Sensori.Ai do this every hour, and every day.”
Core Products
Could you walk us through Sensori.ai’s core products and features, and how they are transforming consumer engagement? Dr. Pradeep explained:
“Sensori.ai delivers a full suite of products, service, and capabilities to companies, all based upon our foundational and proprietary combination of Generative Ai with consumer neuroscience.”
“Our solutions focus on using neuroAI for four specific needs: consumer understanding (including neurographic profiles, archetypes, price sensitivity, personality and proclivities); product and brand innovation (including product features, product patent and IP protection, product pricing, product promotion and product volumetrics prediction); sensorial innovation (including fragrance design, flavor design, music design and packaging visual design); and desire creation (including advertising, messaging, desire scoring, desire-based message redesign and desire-based PDP redesign). ‘NeuroAI’ details all of the science and methods in these four areas, which are also contained in the Sensori.Ai platform and solution suite.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of Sensori.ai’s future goals, particularly in terms of expanding its product offerings or market reach? Dr. Pradeep emphasized:
“At Sensori.Ai, our future goals are largely demystifying branding and marketing for businesses of all sizes. Empowering other businesses to do this means two things: 1) privacy and protection for IP and, 2) create attainable competitive advantage.
1.) Privacy and protection – One of our goals is to give our clients an opportunity to, 1) create platforms within the company that provide breakthrough innovations, branding, and multi sensorial products so that our clients can own and protect their own IP themselves.
2.) Attainable competitive advantage – We want to build in-house neuroAI labs for companies that basically make being an expert in neuroscience-powered AI accessible and keep the competitive advantage to themselves.
We strive to make advanced marketing tools and insights accessible to everyone, not just industry giants, by leveraging the power of neuroscience and GenAI.
It’s simple:
We break down the complexities of creating compelling and effective marketing strategies,
And we make them understandable and usable for all in our book, neuroAI-Winning the Minds of Consumers with Neuroscience Powered GenAI.”
“We have made the inner workings of our platform transparent by meticulously detailing the science behind sensory memory, the algorithms driving our fragrance and flavor designs, and the principles that guide our technology. This transparency ensures that our users not only benefit from our innovations but also gain a deep understanding of the principles that underpin them, fostering a more inclusive and informed marketing landscape.”
Industry Challenges
What recent industry challenges have you encountered, especially in the realm of sensory data and AI, and how has Sensori.ai navigated them? Dr. Pradeep acknowledged:
“The world of fragrance and flavor, in particular, is controlled by a handful of companies that have global domination. Our goal is to democratize the fragrance industry with our platforms.”
“Sensori.Ai’s rebellion and revolution is obviously met with resistance. We are going through all of the typical challenges that any radical transformative revolutionary technology will go through. But, how are we democratizing the fragrance industry?
1.) Using the learnings of neuroscience
2.) Having the world’s largest collection of nonconscious data
3.) Applying machine learning
Having these metrics in the olfactory world, we are able to innovate in a fundamentally different way than other people/companies. Metrics and Transformers have changed the way in which we innovate from the time of Sensori.Ai’s inception. We conform to the industry standards.”
“By focusing on the nonconscious connections consumers have with sensory inputs, we have developed innovative solutions that not only meet but exceed industry standards, aligning perfectly with consumer preferences and enhancing overall sensory experiences.”
Evolution Of Sensori.ai’s Technology
How has Sensori.ai’s technology evolved since its inception, particularly in its application of AI to sensory data? Dr. Pradeep noted:
“Our technology is always evolving, because we are continuously innovating on behalf of our clients. The package goods industry, for example, has to innovate constantly to keep consumers engaged and competitors at bay. The demand on our algorithms and technology encourages us to keep evolving and thinking outside of the box. These are some examples of the wide range of requests we put on our algorithms: New product development, improved package designs, supercharged marketing and messaging solutions, and many others.”
“Sensori.Ai algorithms have evolved to evaluate consumer Desire from a neuroscientific standpoint, and to redesign and rewrite to evoke Desire. Almost every manufacturer wonders, “If I build it, will they come?”. Sensori.Ai’s response is that it important to build, but then to respectfully evoke Desire in the consumer to want to try and buy. This crucial step is the difference between a product and a runaway success. Sensori’s algorithms address this crucial “last mile” problem using techniques and understanding of neuroscience.”
“Price is in the nonconscious – the consumer at some point determines if it is “worth” paying for something. Be it a home, a car, a perfume, a cup of coffee there seems to be a border where the consumer thinks it is worth paying for it, and at some point, it is a price “too far”. That elusive border between ‘reasonable’ and ‘unreasonable’ is in the nonconscious mind of the consumer and is rarely subject to rational econometric analysis. The algorithms of Sensori find that border.”
“Product Volumetrics – simply how much of it can be sold in the first year is a critical metric companies use to determine whether to launch a product. However this critical number is highly dependent on the Desire evoked in the nonconscious mind of the consumer for the product. The algorithms of Sensori are the ONLY algorithms in the world that compute Desire, and use this crucial metric to estimate product volumetrics.”
Significant Milestones
What are some of the most significant milestones Sensori.ai has achieved, particularly in terms of product innovation or market impact? Dr. Pradeep cited:
“We have set a new standard for personalized and effective branding, and product innovation!”
“These are the standout milestones:
“Our neuroAI algorithms are changing the way companies innovate products and market them by creating, human-centric, and emotionally resonant products and experiences.
1.) Sensorials – Fragrance and Flavor Design – Our innovative approach allows brands to design unique, and well-balanced scents that resonate deeply with their target consumers. We leveraging memory structures and nonconscious data. Sensori.Ai can identify and extract meaningful scents and flavors that align with consumers’ preferences, ensuring both appeal and compliance with safety standards.
2.) Breakthrough Innovation – How to create breakthrough innovation by bringing to a category the innovations and analogies from other categories. How to price these innovations, and appropriately message them.
3.) Desire Framework – Our algorithms understand how the brain processes Desire, we have significantly improved the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, elevating Brand desire and Desire to purchae. We have transformed the way companies are messaging by integrating neuroscience principles into GenAi algorithms.
4.) Sonic Branding – Music Creation – Understanding the emotions evoked by music allows us to create Sonic Branding that musically communicates the core brand attributes to the consumer.
5.) Consumer Understanding – Moving from the pure demographic understanding of the consumer to a full neurographic profile of the consumer is the big leap forward. Knowing the hopes, dreams, aspirations, fears, anxieties of the consumer, and then blending them to extract the archetype of the consumer are the new milestones that have been achieved. In addition, if the consumer is a Taylor Swift fan, and a few songs in particular to the consumer, what does the consumer’s preference in music speak about their persona? These milestones have been crossed.”
Success Stories
Can you share any specific success stories where Sensori.ai’s solutions have dramatically improved consumer engagement or business outcomes? Dr. Pradeep highlighted:
“For instance, a brand had as it targeted Gen Z women in Manhattan, who were career professionals working in finance. Sensori.Ai used nonconscious data to identify seed notes that resonated with the target demographic. The AI system meticulously adhered to IFRA’s standards, ensuring safety and compliance. The result was a unique, well-balanced fragrance that aligned perfectly with the brand’s identity and consumer preferences. This approach not only enhanced consumer engagement but also ensured cost-effectiveness and efficacy against rival fragrances.”
“Another client was seeking Sonic Branding that represented their brand and became a lasting mnemonic with the consumer. We utilized neuroscience powered GenAi models to extract and generate music that aligns with the emotional tone of a brand. By decomposing audio tracks into multidimensional emotions and mapping them to brand profiles, We ensured that the music used in advertisements resonated deeply with the target audience. This approach not only enhanced brand memorability but also effectively communicated brand values and statements, leading to improved consumer engagement.”
“Another global client wanted to charged their PDP imagery online to evoke Desire and standout from the competition. Desire algorithms of Sensori first evaluated the entire PDP of the client to score every aspect of what was in the carousel from a neuroscientific perspective of Desire. The entire carousel template was redesigned to align with known and documented neuroscience principles. The messaging was redesigned to increase Desire. Click throughs and purchase increased in double digit percentages – an industry first.”
Funding
Upon asking Dr. Pradeep about the company’s funding, he revealed:
Sensori.Ai is experiencing exponential growth and literally every other week we are asked one of the two questions, ‘can we invest in Sensori.Ai?’ Or ‘can we acquire you?'”
Sensori.Ai is privately funded and fully privately held by its founder Dr. A. K. Pradeep.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) is Sensori.ai targeting, and how do you see the company’s impact in that space? Dr. Pradeep assessed:
“Sensori.Ai is targeting the total addressable market (TAM) of the global fragrance and flavor industry, which encompasses a wide range of consumer products including personal care items, household products, and food and beverages. These markets are substantial and equate to about $22 billion.”
“Our total addressable markets include these industries:
1.) World of fragrance and flavor – $5 billion
2.) World of desire based messaging, labeling, and marketing – $10 billion
3.) World of product innovation, R&D, and IP protection – $5 billion
4.) Pricing and Promotions – $2 billion”
Differentiation From The Competition
What sets Sensori.ai apart from its competitors in the AI-driven consumer engagement space? Dr. Pradeep affirmed:
“Sensori.Ai has a set of industry firsts:
- The ONLY company blending Neuroscience and GenAi
- The ONLY company using Nonconscious Data
- The ONLY company with the world’s largest collection of nonconscious data.
- The ONLY company that innovates across categories
- The ONLY company that generates provisional patents for innovations
- The ONLY company that fully designs fragrance and flavor from the nonconscious
- The ONLY company that analyzes emotions evoked my Music in the brain
- The ONLY company that creates nonconscious pricing
- The ONLY company that estimates product Volumetrics based on Desire
- The ONLY company that creates Neurotemplate based PDP design
- The ONLY company that produce neuroscience aligned Packaging”
Additional Thoughts
Are there any additional topics or insights you’d like to discuss? Dr. Pradeep concluded:
“Yes! Hot off the presses—our new book, ‘neuroAI Winning the Minds of Consumers with Neuroscience Powered GenAI’ is now available on Amazon!”
“We are inspired to make all of our research and findings available to everyone!”
“‘neuroAI’ combines advanced neuroscience with deep GenAI expertise, offering practical insights to harness the hidden drivers of consumer behavior, otherwise known as the non-conscious mind. The non-conscious mind influences 95% of decisions.”
“Innovators, creatives, and executives now have a blueprint to scale neuroAi within enterprises, driving top-line growth by winning and exciting consumers.”
“The methods behind all of the algorithms and techniques of Sensori.Ai are revealed in the book neuroAi – Winning the Minds of Consumers with Neuroscience Powered GenAi.”
Order the book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/NeuroAI-Winning-Consumers-Neuroscience-Powered/dp/1394261969
