From: mk_thisisit
The startup Kosmos AI, founded by Miron Mironiuk, is valued at over 2 billion zlotys, equivalent to 500 million dollars, with an investor having invested money based on this valuation [00:00:03][00:00:12][00:00:52][00:05:40]. Kosmos AI’s mission is to help users save money and time, and assist owners of physical stores in saving time and earning money [00:01:07]. The company achieves this by utilizing data, including geolocation from smartphones, to understand and predict consumer behavior in the physical world [00:01:17][00:01:31][00:04:44].
While there is much discussion about e-commerce, 80% of global trade, valued at $23 trillion, still occurs in the physical world [00:01:38][00:01:40][00:01:49]. Kosmos AI’s objective is to bridge these two worlds, connecting online and offline shopping experiences [00:01:53][00:02:14]. The company aims to change how people buy and consume content by developing a product that combines media consumption with shopping habits [00:06:09][00:06:14][00:06:17].
Rationale for Asian Market Entry
Miron Mironiuk, born and raised in Wrocław, Poland, moved to China eight years ago and currently resides in Singapore [00:02:20][00:02:24][00:07:31]. His decision to target Asia was based on several strategic factors:
- Access to a large user base: Being in Asia provides access to a huge number of people, with China alone having 1.4 billion people, providing access to over a billion phones [00:02:27][00:02:32][00:02:55][00:02:56].
- Smartphone penetration: Initially, Miron considered the United States but noted that smartphone consumption was only at 25% [00:09:17][00:09:21].
- Market size and effort: The effort required to enter any market is similar regardless of its size, making it more efficient to focus on larger markets with higher potential users, customers, and data for artificial intelligence algorithms [00:11:22][00:11:40][00:11:44].
Miron Mironiuk created an Excel table to evaluate potential markets based on population size, smartphone penetration, retail size, and advertising expenditure per capita [00:09:48][00:09:51]. This analysis identified Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia as the most promising locations [00:10:07][00:10:10]. Australia was ruled out due to its smaller population and distance [00:10:13]. The initial move was to Hong Kong, influenced by a client, L’Oréal, due to its proximity to China [00:10:21][00:10:25]. After six months in Hong Kong, testing technologies with L’Oréal, Miron understood that Asia was where the future of technology was unfolding, not the United States [00:10:30][00:10:44][00:10:46]. He later moved to Shanghai and, three years ago, to Singapore to expand into Southeast Asia [00:11:03][00:11:07].
Polish Potential in the Global Tech Landscape
Miron Mironiuk emphasizes Poland’s significant, often underestimated, potential in the tech world [00:12:19][00:12:21]. While apples and computer games are considered major exports, Poland’s true strength lies in its programmers, who are among the best globally, as demonstrated by their performance in programming competitions [00:12:34][00:12:36][00:12:40][00:12:42].
For the last decade, Poland has ranked fourth in global programming competitions, behind Russia, China, and the United States [00:12:44][00:12:46][00:12:48]. Notably, Poland has only one less medal than the United States, despite having a population nine times smaller [00:12:52][00:12:54]. Per capita, Poland is the world leader in programming medals, highlighting its incredible human resource [00:12:57][00:13:00]. This intellectual potential is considered a natural resource more valuable than diamond deposits [00:13:03][00:13:16][00:13:18].
Despite this, Poland ranks only 50th in GDP per capita [00:13:32][00:13:34]. Miron believes Poland should leverage its intellectual capital to become a wealthier nation [00:13:38][00:13:41].
Advice for Polish startups
Miron Mironiuk advises Polish startups to look beyond Poland, Europe, and even the United States as their target markets, stating that “the world is much bigger and much more interesting” [00:27:21][00:27:30][00:27:32]. He suggests that if companies are serious about international expansion, their founders should themselves move abroad for a period to gain experience and adapt their thinking [00:27:37][00:27:40][00:27:42].
He attributes his success to a combination of luck and stubbornness, acknowledging that being Polish and having access to top programmers is a form of luck [00:14:33][00:14:35][00:26:54][00:26:58]. His company, Kosmos AI, employs approximately 30 programmers, mostly from Poland, with one from Ukraine, many of whom are medalists from important programming Olympics [00:14:45][00:14:48][00:14:51][00:14:53][00:14:55]. The entire team consists of about 80 people, demonstrating the power of technology in building a large-scale business with a relatively small team [00:15:05][00:15:09][00:15:12][00:15:14].
The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Society
Miron Mironiuk sees the current period as a “breakthrough” and a “key moment in history” for AI development [00:18:59][00:19:01][00:19:32][00:19:36]. He highlights that AI has been present in various applications for years, such as phone maps, email, and search engines [00:18:24][00:18:25][00:18:27][00:18:30][00:18:32][00:18:35]. The success of large language models like Chat GPT is not solely due to fundamental mathematical breakthroughs but largely to an effective business model and user-friendly interface [00:17:24][00:17:28][00:17:30][00:18:05][00:18:08].
He compares the current AI revolution to the Second Industrial Revolution in the 1920s, which allowed the United States to surpass Great Britain [00:19:50][00:19:52][00:19:56][00:19:58][00:20:00]. Artificial intelligence offers a similar opportunity for countries like Poland [00:20:02][00:20:05]. He predicts that AI will replace 30-50% of jobs by 2050, primarily repetitive and routine positions often found in developing countries [00:21:50][00:21:52][00:21:58][00:22:01]. This could exacerbate the wealth gap, making richer countries richer and poorer countries poorer, potentially leading to social instability if not addressed [00:22:06][00:22:08][00:22:10][00:22:18][00:22:20][00:22:22][00:22:32][00:22:34].
Regulation and Data Control
Miron Mironiuk argues that to manage the AI revolution on our own terms, particularly for Poland and the European Union, the focus must be on controlling data [00:22:40][00:22:44][00:22:46][00:22:56][00:22:59]. He emphasizes that while AI is a tool, its control lies with those who manage the data it uses [00:23:21][00:23:40]. He believes that regulations like GDPR, while well-intentioned, are not entirely sufficient to prevent misuse by entities with bad intentions [00:24:43][00:24:47][00:24:51][00:24:56]. A business model that relies on users being unaware of their data usage is short-term [00:25:41][00:25:44][00:25:46].
For Poland, he suggests focusing on “wise regulations” concerning data, taxes, and education, developed through consensus with citizens and entrepreneurs, rather than being politicized [00:29:34][00:29:41][00:29:45][00:29:47][00:29:50][00:29:52]. Such common-sense approaches, like personal data protection, should transcend political divisions to enable Poles to fully leverage the technological revolution [00:30:09][00:30:12][00:30:16][00:30:18][00:30:20]. He calls for collective action to utilize Poland’s natural resource of top engineers to position the country among the ten largest economies in the world by 2050 [00:28:51][00:28:56][00:29:00][00:29:02][00:29:04][00:29:08][00:29:10].