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Conversation
Highlights
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Matt Theurer, CEO & Co-Founder of HyperSpectral, an AI-powered spectral intelligence solution that’s raised $8.5 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
- AI-Driven Pathogen Detection: HyperSpectral combines AI and spectroscopy to rapidly detect pathogens in food systems, offering a faster, cost-effective alternative to current methods like PCR.
- Pandemic Inspiration: The inefficiencies of COVID-19 testing inspired Matt to explore new ways of detecting pathogens, realizing that similar issues existed in food safety.
- Broad Applications Beyond Food: While the initial focus is food safety, the technology has broad applications, including human health (detecting antibiotic-resistant bacteria) and materials provenance.
- Outsider Perspective as a Strength: Coming from outside the traditional microbiology field allowed Matt and his team to question established practices, leading to more innovative solutions.
- Creating a New Category: HyperSpectral is positioning itself as a category creator in “spectral intelligence,” leveraging physics and AI to solve real-world problems.
- Navigating Market Focus: Despite the many potential use cases, HyperSpectral prioritized food safety due to fewer regulatory hurdles and a clear market need, which informed their GTM strategy.
Actionable
Takeaways
Leverage AI to tackle traditional problems:
Matt emphasized that AI, combined with established techniques like spectroscopy, can significantly improve outdated processes. Founders should explore how AI can unlock new efficiencies or solve long-standing challenges in their own industries.
Focus on a beachhead market first:
While HyperSpectral’s technology has numerous use cases across industries, the company targeted food safety as its initial market due to fewer regulatory hurdles. Prioritize markets that offer quicker wins, then expand into more complex sectors as you gain traction.
Being an outsider can be an advantage:
As an outsider to the pathogen detection field, Matt’s team brought fresh perspectives, asking questions that industry veterans might overlook. Founders entering new markets should see their lack of experience as an opportunity to innovate and challenge norms.
The value is in the software, not the hardware:
HyperSpectral’s technology is hardware-agnostic, focusing on the software's ability to process spectral data and deliver insights. Similarly, founders should consider whether the long-term value of their solution lies in software, which is often more scalable and adaptable.
Grind to find the real problem:
Identifying a viable market problem took extensive customer outreach and validation. Matt’s team spoke with everyone from farmers to grocers to confirm the need for a fast pathogen detection solution. Founders should invest time in deep customer discovery to ensure their product solves a real pain point before scaling.
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