Spotlight on DeepSight: An Interview with Nicolas Bearzatto

DeepSight is creating the most accessible augmented reality on the market. Their augmented reality software has nearly limitless capabilities in enabling industrial companies to solve labour shortage and training issues. With their tech, users can create and visualize 3D work instructions in realtime, following 3D animations and interactive sequences. This has lead to performing first time tasks faster, safer, and with fewer errors. It is something that you have to “try it to believe it”, and it a total game changer in the augmented reality and AI space.

We caught up with Nicolas Bearzatto, Co-Founder and CEO of DeepSight to hear about his entrepreneurial journey, the future of DeepSight, and what advice he would give to other founders.

First off, tell us a little bit about yourself Nicolas

I am an entrepreneur at heart. I always enjoyed the gratification you get seeing your projects evolve and turn into something that impacts people’s live. From an early age I started a landscaping company that ended up servicing over 250 people weekly and I also had a clothing business during my college years. Both opportunities allowed me to develop my management skills and my ability to lead projects head on which in turn help me start DeepSight with my partner. We embarked on this adventure nearly four years ago and every day we are still excited to get to create our vision of what augmented reality will become.

Tell us about DeepSight! What motivated you to start this company?

DeepSight started out as a project between two childhood friends and while it has matured to grown business, it still remains at the heart, the dream of two friends to create a product that has a positive impact for people. We started the company right after university. Francis had been working on his own graphics engine to enable augmented reality and when he presented me the idea, I immediately jumped on board realizing the possibilities the technology offered.

Today, DeepSight develops a suite of tools that enable companies to use augmented reality to replicate expert guidance and instruction for worker training, upskilling and reskilling. The solution increases productivity, reduces potential for errors, and empowers workers in the industry 4.0.

What makes DeepSight unique in the AI space?

DeepSight operates in a field where there are very few competitors because it is quite difficult to create augmented reality experiences. DeepSight is trying to change this reality by coming with a unique approach to create the content and visualize it. While this has positioned the company in an enviable spot in the market, the game changer is the move to the AI space.

The solution enables company to capture data points that were inaccessible before, mostly metrics delivered about the workforce. DeepSight is therefore unique in the sense that it intends to become a behemoth in data aggregation like predictive analysis and photo/video analysis will be rooted within DeepSight’s data.

What is the biggest challenge you are trying to solve?

The biggest challenge we are trying to solve is the transmission of knowledge in enterprises. At the moment, 75% of companies rely on job shadowing to train their new workforce but this strategy is not efficient. It takes away your expert from productive tasks to train new workers (that may not even stay for long) and this method is exacerbated by the fact that a large part of the workforce is going to retirement in the coming years.

With the generalized skill shortages affecting all industries, only the companies that are able to correctly pass on knowledge will survive. DeepSight’s mission is to capture the knowledge of our experts before they leave and be able to transmit it an optimal way using augmented reality.

What is the next big goal you want to accomplish for DeepSight?

We have an important and challenging roadmap ahead of us but if we accomplish all our objectives, I think we can become the leader in the industry within the next five years.

Right now, we’re focused on work instruction and productivity tools, but we’re already exploring the realms of real-time collaboration and IoT data. Furthermore, we have launched a program for high schools to showcase our augmented reality tools.  We can see that our platform can evolve toward multiple industries and sectors. To get there, we need to continue developing more functionalities, and most importantly focus on what has made our success, keeping it simple and accessible.

You are one of five members of the inaugural pilot cohort of Accelerate AI! What motivated you to apply for ventureLAB’s Accelerate AI program? What is 1 big thing you are hoping to accomplish together with ventureLAB?

AI was always part of our game plan, but we just needed the boost to incorporate it into our development pipeline. ventureLAB’s Accelerate AI program will help us guide our AI initiatives and help keep focus in our efforts. Through our collaboration with ventureLAB we are developing a network of partners in Ontario and accelerating the growth of our AI network as we embark on our AI journey.

 How has ventureLAB enabled DeepSight to date? Would you advise other founders who are considering this program to apply?
DeepSight has benefited from a wide array of mentors during its time with ventureLAB. From dedicated mentors who help refine our business model to financing experts who can help answer the many questions of the financing world.

The ventureLAB ecosystem has also helped us develop our network and helped create opportunities to meet new clients. I would recommend other founders to apply for ventureLAB’s many programs to grow their network and get challenged on their entrepreneurial mission.

What is the best lesson you’ve learned on your entrepreneurial journey thus far? What advice would you have for other founders who are in the same shoes as you?

One of the lessons I’ve learned from all my entrepreneurial experiences is that success doesn’t come quickly. It is only in the media that you hear about overnight successes. It takes a lot of perseverance to go through all the ups and downs but at the end of the day it’s worth working for your own dream.

Advice I would tell other founders that has helped fuel our growth is to surround yourself with partners and collaborator that will strengthen you. A great way to do it is through accelerators like ventureLAB and Centech in Montréal. They connect you with great mentors and fast forward the development of your business at all levels.

Applications to ventureLAB's Accelerate AI program are now open until July 27, 2022. To apply, click here!

About DeepSight

DeepSight seeks to use augmented reality to empower people first in their work and then bring the positive outcomes to elevate people in their daily lives. Through their code-free environment, they are making the creation and use of augmented reality accessible to anyone and stimulate the collective creativity to create powerful experiences of all genres.

About ventureLAB

ventureLAB is a leading global founder community for hardware technology and enterprise software companies in Canada. Located at the heart of Ontario’s innovation corridor in York Region, ventureLAB is part of one of the biggest and most diverse tech communities in Canada. Our initiatives focused on raising capital, talent retention, commercializing technology and IP, and customer acquisition have enabled thousands of companies to create over 4,000 jobs and raise more than $200 million in investment capital. At ventureLAB, we grow globally competitive tech titans that build-to-scale in Canada, for global markets.