What is yrikka?
Yrikka is an automated AI risk management technology designed to serve customers in the healthcare and national defense sectors. AI risk management is fundamental to AI safety as it enables the adoption of trustworthy and responsible AI. In 2022, within 6 months of its inception, Yrikka received a $75,000 SBIR contract with the U.S. Air Force. In the same year, the Company was selected as a participant in the CUNY Public Health Innovation Accelerator. In 2023, Yrikka won a $150,000 SBIR contract with the U.S. Army (with a 9% acceptance rate). They have built an MVP for their healthcare customers – Radiology AI Platform – that is currently undergoing beta testing with select users.
Quick Facts
Company Name: Yrikka
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Founder(s): Kia Khezeli, John Kalantari
Year Founded: 2022
Website: www.yrikka.com
About the Leadership Team
The two co-founders, Kia Khezeli (Ph.D., Cornell University, Statistical ML with a focus on risk and safety in sequential decision-making) and John Kalantari (Ph.D., University of Iowa, Bayesian ML with a focus on complex systems), have more than two decades of theoretical and applied AI research experience with 3 patents and more than 40 publications. As long-time colleagues, they have led healthcare AI projects as Faculty and Directors at the Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, NASA FDL AI Accelerator, and UF Shands Hospital.
Prior to founding Yrikka, John was Professor and the Director of AI at the Department of Surgery and the founder of the Biomedical Artificial General Intelligence Lab (BAGIL) at the Mayo Clinic. On a mission to transform healthcare with AI, Kia joined BAGIL in 2020. John and Kia left the Mayo Clinic to found Yrikka in 2022.
