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§ Private Profile · Arlington, VA, USA
Pienso is a technology company.
Pienso offers an interactive AI platform enabling users to build, train, and deploy custom language models without requiring code. Its no-code builder allows organizations to extract insights from text data, facilitating document intelligence and content moderation. The platform empowers non-technical professionals to engage with and apply AI.
Pienso was co-founded in 2016 by Birago Jones and Karthik Dinakar, both MIT alumni. Their insight stemmed from recognizing those closest to problems often lacked the technical means to leverage powerful AI. They aimed to democratize machine learning, allowing non-programmers to develop and apply AI solutions using their domain knowledge.
The platform serves businesses and professionals with datasets seeking AI-driven answers. Pienso’s vision is to put artificial intelligence directly into the hands of problem-solvers, making sophisticated machine learning capabilities accessible for a broader audience. This empowers organizations to transform raw text into actionable insights.
Pienso has raised $13.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Pienso has raised $13.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Pienso is a technology company specializing in a no-code machine learning platform that empowers non-programmers, particularly subject matter experts, to train and deploy AI models on their business data without coding.[1][2][4] It focuses on generative AI and language data analysis, offering an interactive interface for applications like customer insights, content moderation, document intelligence, and risk detection, with interoperability across major LLM providers and options for cloud or on-premise deployment to ensure data privacy.[1][2] The platform serves businesses and professionals handling unstructured data, solving the problem of inaccessible AI tools by enabling rapid experimentation, training, and deployment, which has driven early traction in high-impact areas like misinformation detection and supply chain analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Pienso was founded in 2016 in Arlington, Virginia, originally as UBQ Labs, Inc., by co-founders Birago Jones (SM ’12) and Sivaraman "Shiv" Dinakar, who drew from their MIT roots in addressing cyberbullying through AI.[1][2] The idea emerged from developing point-and-click tools to let non-experts build machine-learning models, evolving from research into practical applications for detecting issues like human trafficking, weapons sales, and misinformation.[1] A pivotal moment came during the pandemic when Pienso enabled virologists to mine research articles, aiding government efforts to secure supply chains for drugs like remdesivir—highlighting its real-world impact without requiring deep learning expertise from users.[1]
Pienso rides the democratization of AI trend, making generative AI and LLMs accessible beyond programmers amid exploding demand for custom models on proprietary data.[1][4] Timing aligns with rising concerns over data privacy in cloud AI services and the shift toward on-premise solutions, especially as regulations tighten on data sovereignty.[1] Market forces like the proliferation of unstructured business data and talent shortages in ML engineering favor Pienso, enabling sectors like healthcare, cybersecurity, and finance to leverage internal expertise without Big Tech dependencies.[1][2] It influences the ecosystem by bridging domain experts to AI scale, fostering innovations in public good applications and reducing barriers for startups and enterprises in the no-code AI wave.[1][3]
Pienso is poised to expand as no-code AI platforms become essential for enterprise customization of LLMs, potentially scaling through partnerships with LLM providers and deeper integrations for industries like healthcare and defense.[1][3] Trends like edge AI, stricter privacy laws, and multimodal data will shape its path, amplifying its edge in sovereign deployments. Its influence may evolve from niche humanitarian tools to a mainstream enabler, empowering more experts to drive AI-driven decisions—reinforcing its founding mission to harness technology for humanity's toughest challenges.[1]
Pienso has raised $13.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $10.0M Series A in March 2024.
Pienso has raised $13.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Pienso's investors include Luke Cooper, Alumni Ventures, Arthur Ventures, ENIAC Ventures, First Round Capital, Indicator Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners, Lowercarbon Capital, Polaris Partners, Preface Ventures, Uncork Capital, Alain Hanover.