She left a comfortable corporate career to build a Sensory AI startup that listens to pigs—and just secured a major global distribution deal. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Saba Samiei, the visionary founder and CEO of MACSO. Named after MACS0647-JD, the furthest known galaxy, MACSO was built on a "how, not if" culture that forces the team to think outside the Milky Way. Saba shares her incredible personal journey: escaping the aftermath of war in Iran, immigrating to India as a teenager, and eventually arriving in New Zealand at 22 with the sheer determination to succeed. After climbing the corporate ladder at tech giants like IBM, Westpac, and Microsoft, she took the ultimate leap to build a deep tech startup from scratch. While the tech industry pours billions into Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate human productivity, Saba is taking a radically different approach. She argues that current AI only replicates the logical frontal lobe, completely ignoring the sensory systems that keep us alive in the physical world. Enter MACSO’s "Physical AI": an edge-AI platform that uses audio sensors to detect respiratory illnesses in swine up to six days earlier than a trained human. By catching outbreaks at "patient zero," MACSO is saving livestock, slashing costs for farmers, and drastically reducing the global consumption of antibiotics. Saba also drops bold truths on the dangers of AGI, why she believes the LLM bubble will burst, and the cognitive risks of outsourcing our brains to machines. 🌌 Thinking Beyond the Milky Way: Why naming her startup after the furthest known galaxy drives their ambitious engineering culture. 🇮🇷 From Iran to NZ: Escaping an unfair regime, finding her footing as an immigrant, and making New Zealand her home. 🧠 The Shrinking Hippocampus: A stark warning on why outsourcing mental tasks to AI could lead to the cognitive equivalent of the industrial revolution. 🐷 Sensory Edge AI: Using audio sensors to listen to pigs and detect respiratory illnesses before a farm-wide outbreak. 💊 Reducing Global Antibiotic Use: How MACSO’s tech catches "patient zero," allowing farmers to medicate smaller groups and lower antibiotic reliance. 💥 The LLM Bubble: Why the AI industry's hyper-focus on text and human productivity is ignoring the massive potential of physical, environmental AI. Connect with the Guest: MACSO Website: https://www.macso.ai Saba Samiei’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabasamiei/ Links to NZVC & Hosts: 🔗 Learn more about NZVC: Website: https://www.nzvc.co.nz Mark Pavlyukovskyy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/ Hendrik Remigereau - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/ 00:00 - Naming a startup after the furthest galaxy in the universe. 02:03 - Immigrating from Iran to India, and arriving in NZ at 22. 10:32 - Stephen Hawking, astrophysics, and the core of her AI ethics thesis. 21:27 - Why humans went from fearing the Terminator to embracing ChatGPT. 29:51 - The cognitive danger of AI: Is Google Maps shrinking our brains? 32:41 - Leaving Microsoft to build a Deep Tech AI startup. 43:40 - Major News: MACSO's massive distribution deal with Virbac. 46:29 - Sensory AI: How listening to pigs saves livestock and reduces antibiotics. 57:29 - The mental toll of being a founder and learning to trust yourself. 01:07:57 - Her real thoughts on AGI, P-Doom, and the LLM bubble bursting. If you enjoyed this masterclass on deep tech, Sensory AI, and the ethical future of humanity, please hit the Like button, Comment with your thoughts on the LLM bubble, and Subscribe to TechMates for more high-impact conversations with world-class founders! #startups, #artificialintelligence, #deeptech, #NewZealand, #founderjourney, #SensoryAI, #AgTech, #EdgeAI, #MACSO, #AIethics, #machinelearning, #entrepreneurship, #womenintech, #techpodcast, #NZVC, #TechMates, #innovation, #SaaS, #AIsensors, #futureofAI
