{"id":183371,"date":"2025-10-08T17:08:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T14:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/?p=183371"},"modified":"2025-10-10T17:09:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T14:09:42","slug":"tehnopol-ai-accelerator-mentors-the-future-of-ai-depends-on-transparency-courage-and-evidence-based-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/tehnopol-ai-accelerator-mentors-the-future-of-ai-depends-on-transparency-courage-and-evidence-based-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Tehnopol AI Accelerator mentors: The future of AI depends on transparency, courage, and evidence-based thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tehnopol Startup Incubator\u00a0AI Accelerator<\/a>\u00a0helps early-stage teams bring their AI-based ideas to market faster while avoiding common early-stage mistakes. One of the program\u2019s main strengths is its network of experienced mentors \u2014 including both technology entrepreneurs and research-driven development experts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the accelerator, teams receive support in strategy, product, and business development, as well as access to a valuable network of Estonia\u2019s top experts. Applications for the AI Accelerator are open until\u00a0October 12<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otto M\u00e4ttas: \u201cThe next truly important AI unicorn will be born in Estonia\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Otto M\u00e4ttas<\/strong>\u00a0(pictured) is a technology expert who has focused on artificial intelligence for the past five years, working as a systems developer, architect, and strategist. According to him, Estonia is one of the best places in the world to create AI-based solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a society that trusts digital tools and a functioning e-state to build upon. This creates a unique sandbox for testing and developing solutions with an impact that reaches far beyond Estonia,\u201d said M\u00e4ttas. \u201cI believe the next truly important AI unicorn will be born in Estonia \u2014 or from Estonian roots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says he is looking for teams that don\u2019t settle for already-known solutions but instead ask what kind of world we want to live in 10\u201320 years from now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m interested in ventures that operate at the frontier of today\u2019s knowledge,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kristjan Jansons: \u201cAI success depends more on business challenges than technology\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kristjan Jansons<\/strong>\u00a0has worked in the field of artificial intelligence for over ten years and has seen more than 150 different projects. He emphasizes that the secret to a successful AI product lies beyond technology alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe technology has to be smart, of course \u2014 but what truly matters is understanding the real business problem it solves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Jansons, Estonia has the AI expertise to build unicorns with smaller teams than ever before. He also advises founders to think ahead when developing their products: \u201cDon\u2019t limit yourself to what AI can do today \u2014 think about where the technology will be in a couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tauri Tuubel: \u201cDon\u2019t rush if you haven\u2019t validated your problem\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tech entrepreneur and\u00a0Reconeyez<\/strong>\u00a0co-founder\u00a0Tauri Tuubel<\/strong>\u00a0brings hands-on experience from building a company from zero to global scale. Under his leadership, the company has developed an AI system that processes over 2 million images per day and is sold in more than 60 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you haven\u2019t validated your problem with real customers, don\u2019t apply to an accelerator,\u201d said Tuubel directly. \u201cYour focus must be on a single use case and a fast cycle \u2014 from idea to customer testing in weeks, not months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His experience shows that a clear understanding of the problem and customers\u2019 willingness to pay for the solution form the strongest foundation for any company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accelerator offers support and shortcuts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the mentors, the biggest value of the Tehnopol AI Accelerator lies in its network of experience and connections. \u201cThe accelerator gives you a network to rely on \u2014 whether you\u2019re at the idea stage or already have your first customers,\u201d said Otto M\u00e4ttas. What matters most is that the problem is clearly defined and validated \u2014 something every founder must do themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Tehnopol AI Accelerator<\/strong>\u00a0welcomes teams aiming to create innovative, world-changing AI solutions. Participation in the accelerator is\u00a0free<\/strong>, and no equity is taken. At the end of the program, three startups developing the most promising AI technologies will each receive a\u00a0\u20ac10,000 development grant<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Tehnopol Startup Incubator\u00a0AI Accelerator\u00a0helps early-stage teams bring their AI-based ideas to market faster while avoiding common early-stage mistakes. One of the program\u2019s main strengths is its network of experienced mentors \u2014 including both technology entrepreneurs and research-driven development experts. Throughout the accelerator, teams receive support in strategy, product, and business development, as well as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":183178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[182,200],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startup-incubator","category-artificial-intelligence"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183372,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183371\/revisions\/183372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tehnopol.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}