Sentiance, Artificial Intelligence Innovators will Open a Research and Development Unit in Vilnius

The Belgian company Sentiance which is developing an artificial intelligence-based technology for studying human habits is settling in Lithuania. Over the next three years, the company plans to recruit about 30 data scientists and highly qualified software system specialists in the new Vilnius R&D unit.

“We made the decision to settle in Lithuania, seeing the skills and abilities of the professionals working here. The quality of life in Vilnius was also very important, which helps ensure the long-term stability of the team, and the fact that the time difference between Belgium and the Lithuanian capital is just one hour. This will ensure quick communication between the unit in Vilnius and the head office in Antwerp”, -says Toon Vanparys, CEO of Sentiance.

The technology developed by the company allows the use of information collected by sensors in different devices to better understand the consumer behaviour and the context that provokes such behaviour. The technology developed by Sentiance collects information from sensors installed in smart devices (GPS receivers, time, gyroscopes, etc.), biometric data measurement devices and home-based sensors.

The Sentiance data detective technology for business companies is based on a data processing platform operating on system and deep learning-based algorithms. It provides an opportunity to deliver the end-user information in a convenient form to the costumer who can then take data-driven business decisions. From the data received, Sentiance can create not only an aggregated profile of all users, but also individual specific user profiles.

“To make it easier to imagine how the system works, I can give you an example. Some of the leading car sharing platforms or insurance companies are using our platform to evaluate the drivers’ behaviour. Smartphone sensors can show whether the driver is driving with caution, in accordance with road traffic regulations or whether the driver is distracted, causing emergency situations, etc. According to the driver’s habits, the company can determine the driver’s risk level and increase or decrease the insurance premiums or encourage the driver to drive more responsibly”, – explains Mr T. Vanparys.

The Sentiance platform is used in insurance, healthcare, smart home, “intelligent” cars and commercial program systems.

“Lithuania has recently become an attractive location for R&D units traditionally employing highly qualified specialists. It not only increases the competence of the local ecosystem, but also gives new opportunities to exploit the potential of Lithuanian specialists for the development of world-class technologies”, – says Mindaugas Sinkevičius, the Minister of Economy.

Sentiance units in Antwerp, London, New York and Shanghai are currently employing more than fifty professionals. 80 percent of the company employees are doctors of science with academic experience in system learning, neuroscience, big data, artificial intelligence and other areas. Vincent Spruyt, the company’s Chief Data Scientist was named by the prestigious MIT Technology

Review as one of the most important innovators in Europe this year.

“Technically speaking, Sentiance is a market player of such level in its field as are other companies that have established their R&D units in Lithuania – Uber, Unity or Braendler Engineering. Therefore, Sentiance’s decision to come to Lithuania shows not only the country’s readiness for developing data science-based solutions, but will also help to grow the industry that is still in the stage of development”, –  says Mantas Katinas, CEO of  foreign investment development agency Invest Lithuania.

Established in 2015, Sentiance has attracted EUR 15,6 million investments for further development. The major investors are Volta Ventures, Samsung, QBic and KPN Ventures.