Introduction to Guest

Sam Guilaumé (Geelohme) – is the CEO at Aryballe, which combines biochemistry, advanced optics and machine learning to mimic the human sense of smell. Prior to Aryballe, Sam was the co-founder and CEO of Movea, growing the company to the leading motion sensing technology and eventual acquisition by InvenSense, the leader in inertial sensors for consumer electronic applications, Sam brings over 20 years’ experience in the microelectronics industry to the Aryballe team.

Coming up with the Idea

The call to action and thought behind Aryballe came from a good friend named Tristan. Tristan and Sam have been friends for many years and were running their own companies years ago when they first met. Later on, Tristan sold his company and was looking for his next big adventure. Tristan with a biological engineering background discovered a GPS technology used in the pharmaceutical industry – which led Sam and Tristan to wonder – what if this technology could be used for air instead of liquid? Tristan began to use the technology to make sensors, and soon brought Sam into the mix. This was seven years ago, and also when Aryballe was born. Aryballe is a mix of semiconductor sensor expertise with significant biological content.
Aryballe means a small container/bottle in ancient Greek to carry perfumes and sweets.

Call to Action

The idea to start Aryballe came from mimicking the principle of human sensing. The sensors in our nose are made of organic chemistry, which is pretty innovative when it comes to semiconductor, because organic chemistry and semiconductor do not bind together very well. When Sam & Tristan figured out that they could bind or graft organic chemistry onto silicone and make a sensor that duplicates the human sense of smell, it was all go from there. Aryballe has been able to duplicate all of the five senses, but the sense of smell is most tricky. Over the last seven years, Aryballe has been using an organic chemistry method of binding. Today the company has about 50+ employees, with offices in France, New York, and Seoul, South Korea.

Testing the Product & Validating the Market

During the first few years, the company has been technology focused, working on securing reliable technology at reasonable costs. This process took about five years, with the last two years investing in technology that keeps costs low and volumes high. This particular technology is only the size of a nail, comprising of a very small dimension.

Aryballe has approached their business opportunities in two ways: one is to duplicate another sense. The second being as humans, we collect and fuse together information, touch with temperature, vision with smell. With the idea that sense of smell will be as close as we can get to feeling and experiencing emotion. Aryballe’s game changing technology, we now have a system that can capture and eventually transmit and convey emotion. At this moment, Aryballe is in the transition of starting their industrial process. They are investing in a manufacturing line

Key Challenges

The lack of standardization and the lack of unity on how something smells has been the biggest challenge over the last seven years. You cannot describe smell with any kind of formula. So, unless you have the right technology and Artificial Intelligence, this feat is not possible. However, with technology and machine learning drastically improving over the years, Aryballe has been able to move forward at an accelerated rate.

The other challenge here is to graft these fragments of proteins onto silicon to make it efficient. The silicone is important because it keeps the costs low and the volume high. This is a chemistry-based challenge. The next challenge is to make the silicone effective, which requires a person with a specific expertise. Not to mention adding the need of electronics and machine learning engines. Aryballe’s challenges in developing the right product is a multidisciplinary feat. The next step wil lbe duplicating the preparation of a specific sample. Their are many layers that are crucial in production.

Aryballe employees’ chemists, optical engineers, electronic engineers, and mechanical engineers. Oh, and also people with a good sense of smell.

Future Endeavors

After Aryballe has proven that they can make their sensor product that is for mass market and compatible with many applications, the ultimate goals is to have a sensor that helps you in your daily life. Our health is criticial, and there has been a higher focus in living a more sustaible life. With Aryballe’s technology the hope to easily and effectively be able to make an assessment on one’s health condition.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Start with finding investors who are risk adverse, who can help you mature and become more appealing to industrial players. Invest in both strategic and financial investors, this concoction gives your company a proper balance. Also make sure you are very passionate about your product and surrounded by the right people. Know how to spot the right team players for your business.

Advice for Industry Leaders

Where do you see yourself five to 10 years from now? How do you want to contribute to the world? Where do you see your product/technology making an impact? These questions are not easy, but important. You must have a long-term goal and faith in what you are accomplishing. Faith in not just your future, but your contribution to the future as well.

https://aryballe.com/