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Virtualitics, a company spun out of Caltech and NASA JPL in 2016, focuses on applying advanced AI to mission-critical challenges, including asset availability, personnel readiness, and supply chain optimization.

During the interview, Rob Bocek, Chief Revenue Officer at Virtualitics, provides listeners with insight into how his company can enhance Air Force readiness while ensuring explainability and democratizing AI.

Sometimes, AI is described as a “black box” where one pours in data and out pops an answer. In a life-or-death scenario that many military organizations face, this arbitrary approach will not suffice. As a result, solutions provided by Virtualitics, document the process carefully.

Listening to the customer is key to understanding supply chain problems. Rob Bocek details how his team will get close to the end user. This can be a “democratic” approach where a wide variety of input is absorbed. Virtualitics aims to identify the root causes of pain and determine what specifically needs to be solved.

He highlights their ability to detect anomalies, optimize training pipelines, and anticipate equipment failures. Once these preliminaries are brought together, the most tremendous success will be accomplished when leadership takes risks.

Looking ahead, Virtualitics is hosting the Frontiers of AI for Readiness Summit at Caltech to convene DoD leaders, academics, industry, and investors. Bocek emphasizes partnerships across technology providers, cloud platforms, and startups as essential to scaling AI solutions and accelerating the DoD’s adoption.