Herbert Bay

AI Product Executive · PhD Computer Vision (ETH Zurich)

7
AI Products
4
Ventures
2
Exits
40K+
Citations
Mia21 AI Platform Contact
Wikipedia GitHub LinkedIn

Serial AI entrepreneur and executive with 20+ years building and scaling AI products across Europe and the US. Co-founder and CEO of Earkick, developing Mia21—an advanced memory system for conversational AI.

PhD in Computer Vision from ETH Zurich, co-creator of the SURF algorithm (40K+ citations), and proven track record scaling ventures from inception to successful exits. Combines deep technical expertise with operational leadership and board advisory experience.

Current

Mia21

Co-Founder & CEO · AI Memory Platform

Enterprise conversational AI infrastructure with superior memory. SDKs for iOS, Android, Python, Javascript. LLM-agnostic architecture powering 250K+ user platform.

Visit Mia21

Earkick

Co-Founder & CEO · Mental Health AI (2021 - Present)

AI-powered mental health platform · 4.8★ rating · Featured by Apple, TIME, Forbes, National Geographic · Swiss-made, fully private

Visit Earkick

Background

Education

PhD Computer Vision, ETH Zurich (2009)

Lead-inventor of SURF algorithm · 40,000+ citations · Koenderink Prize 2016

Ventures

  • kooaba (2006-2014) — Co-founder & CEO · First cloud-based image recognition platform · Exit to Qualcomm 2014
  • 47nord (2012-2023) — Co-founder & Board Member · Home of Shortcut and Inspiced
  • Captural (2019-2023) — CEO & Co-initiator · AI-enabled photo-book application at Ifolor
  • Earkick (2021-Present) — Co-founder & CEO · Mental health AI platform

AI Products

  • Mia21 — AI memory platform for conversational AI
  • Earkick — Mental health AI with real-time biomarker analysis
  • PMF Engine — AI-powered product-market fit assessment
  • kooaba — Cloud-based image recognition (now Snapchat AR)
  • Captural — AI photo-book creation
  • Shortcut — Secure notes with AI features
  • Inspiced — AI-powered cooking recommendations

Leadership Experience

  • Magic Leap — Led Computer Vision and Machine Learning teams
  • Ifolor — Board of Directors (2019-2023)
  • ETH Zurich — PhD Computer Vision (2002-2006)

Links

Media

Swisspreneur Podcast EP #524

Swisspreneur Podcast

EP #524 - How to Build a Product Dream Team, Oct 2025

Listen
Founders Weekly

Founders Weekly

Find Product-Market Fit with PMF Score, Sept 2024

Watch
Swisspreneur Podcast

Swisspreneur Podcast

Product Building from Start to Finish, May 2023

Listen
Products That Count

Products That Count

Solving Customer Problems, May 2023

Listen
The Midpoint Podcast

The Midpoint Podcast

From Sailboats to Startups, April 2023

Watch
Raw Startup

Raw Startup

Achieving Product Market Fit, March 2023

Watch
TalentKick

TalentKick

Coaching Entrepreneurs, Nov 2021

Watch
TalentKick ethonAI

TalentKick

ethonAI & Mentoring, Nov 2021

Watch
Swisspreneur #21

Swisspreneur Podcast

EP #21 - Selling a Company and Sailing, March 2019

Listen
Swisspreneur #22

Swisspreneur Podcast

EP #22 - How To Build a Great Product, March 2019

Listen
ETH Globe

ETH Globe Magazine

The Explorer: Portrait, Dec 2018

Read
Giacobbo Müller

Giacobbo Müller

Presenting kooaba, Jan 2008

Watch

Get in Touch

Open to executive roles, advisory positions, and strategic partnerships

herbert.bay@gmail.com LinkedIn