Elisar Nurmagambet helps US intelligence agencies with software
The current member of 30 under 30 North America is no stranger to the rankings. In 2021, Elisar Nurmagambet was included in the Next 1000, a list of startups from across the United States with an initial income of less than $10 million. The “entrance ticket” was the startup Consilienz, created together with American businessman Amir Sanderji, a software system that detects financial crimes. In the same year, Elisar became a finalist in the Forbes Kazakhstan 30 Under 30 rating. And now - the main North American chart, the Enterprise Technology category, with a new project - Black Ice AI.
Elisar's Forbes.com profile says he was born in Kazakhstan and came to the US at 18. “He found a job at the Carlsberg Brewing Company and got involved in fraud prevention. This path led him to launch Black Ice AI, which extracts data from various sources to identify cybercriminals involved in money laundering. The startup was awarded a contract with the US government, which used software to investigate fraud in the field of public-private partnerships.” True, cooperation with Carlsberg happened in Kazakhstan, and in the USA Elisar had a real “grand tour” for a variety of companies and projects.
“I don’t know exactly how I got on the list,” Elisar throws up his hands. - They just called me to clarify information and request documents. Then I found out that the Kazakh Forbes team had nominated me.
When asked what allowed him to be in the rating, Nurmagambet replied that, probably, not many companies work in his field - Defense & Space, where space, defense and security are closely connected.
– This is not only financial crimes, but also counter-trafficking, counter-terrorism, border protection, national security issues, etc., intelligence and investigative technologies. We provide solutions to federal services, our clients are very serious, including special services. It’s usually hard to sell something to such customers,” he explained.
In terms of valuation, the industry as a whole knows that companies under 100 million don't make it onto the global u30 list - that's almost unrealistic. That is, if Consilienz was a startup, then Black Ice AI is a new level.
– I can say that we have scientists in our team who worked at the world's leading universities, for example, at Texas A&M University, one of the centers in the field of artificial intelligence, and developed systems for the US Navy and Air Force. Our CTO is a former NASA chief engineer for the ISS and the Houston Center, responsible for everything from sensors for astronauts and software for the station itself to rocket technology, Elisar says, adding that “this is just the beginning.” – Now we are trying to focus on international development, that is, we offer our solutions outside the United States.
Source: Forbes.kz
CentralasianLIGHT.org
December 6, 2022