Renato Gomes and Daniel Moura founded Pix Force in 2016 after observing a great business opportunity in image-analysis automation while working with a client in the forestry sector. The client needed a census solution to count the number of live and dead seedlings planted in large areas. “You can’t write an algorithm describing what’s in the image, whether it’s a tree, and whether that tree is alive or not,” says Renato, explaining how their first computer vision product came about. “We had to use training models on top of hundreds or thousands of images for us to be able to automate that.” From there, it was easy to expand. “There’s no problem with human interpretation if you’re looking at a hectare, for example, which is the size of a soccer field. But if you’re looking at mining or soil contamination, you’re looking at hundreds or thousands of hectares.” In addition, automating the image analysis and counting process is also more accurate and less costly. 

Currently, the computer-vision products created by the startup include automatic vision technology solutions for electricity power lines and towers, a drone-based thermal inspection of assets, automatic counting and classification of objects, and autonomous systems for monitoring workplace safety. These technologies are used in various industries, from electric utilities to mining, oil and gas. For the past five years, Pix Force has collected several accolades, including leading the AI startup sector at 100 Open Startups. Its yearly growth has doubled since 2021, and it now has multiple offices throughout Brazil, in addition to expanding to Sweden and the US.

Team building has been a crucial part of Pix Force’s focus. “Ten percent of our company is in the hands of our PixWiz, our Pix Wizards,” says Renato. “Everyone is betting on the company.” To increase the community spirit in the distributed team, the team meets once a week for an online chimarrão (a traditional mate drink from the South of Brazil) and a chat. “Neither of us is presenting anything,” says Renato. “The idea is to talk, that’s it. We answer small things, we talk about increasing productivity – the idea is to remind our team that our doors are always open.” Furthermore, Renato highlights how Rio Grande do Sul’s incredible standards for education have helped the company to grow. “Students leave high school with a great set of basic skills, so, regardless of the university course, the quality of our interns was already pretty high. It was a great differential for us.”