AICA was founded in 2019 and grew out of EPFL. Today, the company is based on SICPA's Unlimitrust Campus and is pursuing one goal: to simplify and optimise robot programming in order to amplify human potential. Their solution is a direct response to the needs of industry. Here we meet Baptiste Busch, co-founder and CEO of AICA, who talks about the company's history and his participation in the LeadiNNg to Scale-Up programme run by IMD and Innovaud.
How did AICA come into being? And what is your core business?
We offer control software for industrial robotics. To understand the origins of AICA, you need to go back to my student days. I myself did a thesis in Bordeaux in collaborative robotics, before doing a post-doctorate in a laboratory at EPFL, with Aude Billard. It was then that we noticed that a large number of companies were coming to the research laboratory, interested in collaborative robotics algorithms, machine learning and so on.
That's how Aude came up with the idea of setting up a company whose aim would be to transfer collaborative robotics research and push this technology towards industry. We let it mature, and were able to obtain funding from the EPFL. Then, in 2022, we left the laboratory, in particular with my colleague Enrico Eberhard, who was also a post-doctoral fellow at LASA.
How do you see the world of robotics evolving with the growing influence of AI?
To answer this question, we need to go back to basics. In the 1980s, the market produced industrial robots that repeated the same movement, with software that allowed these actions to be programmed for mass production, as in the automotive industry for example. Then a new trend emerged, with more precise and specific requirements for customising different parts for small-scale production. So we need robots capable of making different movements according to the requirements of the parts. The problem at the moment is that the big industries don't want to change their entire fleet of machines, which were designed for mass production. We are currently beginning this transition towards production lines with computers that can integrate AI, but this transition is a delicate one.
So where does AICA stand in this development?
We are positioning ourselves by offering software capable of doing robotics differently, using AI to provide real-time control using sensors, all integrated into a connected ecosystem. And as explained above, we can offer this type of service because infrastructures are starting to change, as are attitudes. Initially, robotics was the job of a mechanic, not a software programmer. This software skill is increasingly in demand and is bringing new standards and best practices to the robotics profession.
More recently, you took part in the LeadiNNg to Scale-Up programme offered by Innovaud and IMD. How did you find out about it?
I found out about the programme during Top 100 2023, and at the same time I knew Jim Pulcrano (LeadiNNg to Scale-Up programme manager) very well. At the time, I realised that as CEO I needed to understand certain crucial elements of management in order to get off to the best possible start in terms of future strong growth, such as what structure to put in place to develop, etc. So the timing was ideal. Let's just say that the timing was perfect for AICA!
What did you learn from the course?
As I mentioned earlier, the course that focused on putting in place an optimal structure was fascinating. The speech by the CEO of MindMaze was full of advice and answered a lot of my questions. I'll always remember his moral: ‘the first crisis a company faces is a management crisis’. I'd recommend LeadiNNg to Scale-Up to companies that are at this stage of their development, just before experiencing strong growth. It's very useful because we're among CEOs who are experiencing the same challenges, and that's reassuring.
The programme is taught by IMD professors but also by CEOs who have been through this scaling stage. What do you think of this mix?
It's a good balance between theory and practice. In fact, the quality of the courses is excellent and the externs bring that practical aspect.