From Oslo Uni to Palo Alto: AIMS Innovation
Ivar Sagemo, CEO of AIMS Innovation, finds anomalies in complex IT systems.
Originally published in #NordicMade magazine
In comparison to how most startups are born, the beginning of AIMS Innovation was different. At first there was innovation – in 2011, two scientists at the University of Oslo came up with a technology to detect patterns. Then the Technology Transfer Office of the University took the innovation and identified its use for detecting anomalies in complex IT systems.
Today, AIMS Innovation is being built by a team of eight, led by the CEO Ivar Sagemo. Before starting his career as an entrepreneur, the University of Colorado and MIT Sloan alumnus worked as the Global Head of Distribution Services at Thomson Reuters.
“Building the company hasn’t always been easy, because the product AIMS Innovation is developing really has to work. Any performance issues or serious bugs can have a major impact,” tells Sagemo. “However, this June, Microsoft tested our solution in their testing facility in Detroit on the highest throughput environment ever set up – with no identified performance impact,” he continues.
Scaling globally
In addition to a working product, AIMS Innovation has nailed a highly scalable sales process, according to Sagemo. The next step for AIMS Innovation is raising a series A round to build a sales and marketing team and extend the product team. “We are a small team but we close enterprise deals globally. The last two deals are US Fortune 25 companies and the technology and sales model is highly scalable.”
AIMS Innovation has offices in California, Britain and Norway. In its home town of Oslo it has witnessed huge changes since it was born. “The local startup scene has changed a lot since we started building AIMS Innovation. It’s vibrant with co-working spaces and incubators popping up. With the transitioning of the Norwegian economy from the oil industry to sustainable industries this will accelerate,” Sagemo says.
It’s been quite a change for Sagemo over the past four years. “I feel alive at work. The best part about being an entrepreneur is that there is no corporate beast to kill your motivation!”
