About
My name is Elias Willemse1 and I’m a technical entrepreneur, based in London, with over 15 years of experience in AI, using it to solve problems in traditional industries (logistics, returnable packaging, waste management, urban planning). It’s a journey with unexpected turns, pleasantly unexpected turns.
To list but a few:
- a PhD, in optimization algorithms for waste logistics, of all applications;
- being a senior lecturer, and having to teach over 1400 students (I’m never doing that again, thank you);
- starting a venture-backed AI company, and closing a venture-backed AI company;
- get ready to start another company, but now more sensibly, given what I’ve learned (it’s going to be different this time… right?? Right??!!).
All of this, while moving from South Africa to Singapore and now London.
More on me, but elsewhere
A guaranteed-to-be-outdated version of my CV can be found here. I’m also on LinkedIn; guaranteed to be less outdated, except for the profile picture, which is guaranteed-to-be-outdated (GTBO?). My work portfolio can be found here, also GTBO.
Journey
- South Africa → Singapore → London
- Research → Industry → Academia → Entrepreneurship
- 15+ years in AI and Data
Contact
I’m always interested in hearing about new opportunities, collaborations or just having a chat about AI and technology. Feel free to reach out through any of the following channels:
- Email: elias.jw.public@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eliasjw
- Location: Based in London, UK
1My surname is Willemse, a bit tricky to pronounce. The “W” is pronounced the same as “v” in “violin”, the “em” is closer to “uhm”. So together it sounds like “Vill-uhm-se”.