Age: 26
Education: Masters degree in theoretical and mathematical physics at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute
Profession: Tech entrepreneur, scientist
Did you know? Among other projects, Frolov’s company is helping develop a virtual artificial intelligence friend for lonely people and a personal coaching platform for amateur athletes.
Max Frolov is helping put Ukraine on the map as a global leader in tech and science.
The 26-year-old launched an artificial intelligence development company while studying for his physics degree at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI), which is now one of the preeminent tech companies in Ukraine and serves as a launchpad to scientists and tech startups alike.
Thanks to his efforts in creating a free university-level program, thousands of bright tech and science students got a full education in data science, changing their lives.
Having grown up in the village of Kirovka in Kirovohrad Oblast, Frolov said he had average grades in most subjects except physics, in which he excelled. Following his passion, Frolov applied to the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where he would eventually receive his Masters Degree in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics.
There he got a solid education and met good mentors. “My experience at KPI laid out the foundation of my future business and the way I think today,” he said.
It was in his third year at KPI that he would meet his future business partner, Ivan Didur. The two came to realize that thousands of gifted tech and science students at Ukrainian universities had few opportunities to work on cutting edge projects and realize their full potential.
“I mean, if you were a physicist who wanted to work on quantum optics, how many opportunities did you have in Ukraine at the time? The answer is very few,” said Frolov.
They decided to put their physics careers on hold to build a company with a scientific core based on what they studied, including data science and artificial intelligence. Their goal was to make the company, DataRoot Labs, into a platform for science.
In under four years, the co-founders have grown their team from two to more than 25 employees and made it into one of the preeminent big data and AI companies in Ukraine. The company builds AI-run systems, assembles research and development teams for clients to co-build AI and consults tech startups.
“One of our achievements is that we learned how to manage and successfully deliver high technology, AI-enabled projects,” said Frolov. “For example, building a virtual assistant more emotional than Siri or computer vision technology allowing to compare movements of a teacher on the screen to your own by using your phone camera.”
Through DataRoot Labs, Frolov and Didur launched DataRoot University, the first and the largest school for data science, machine learning and data engineering in the region. The program is very tough and requires a great deal of independent learning. More than 3,000 students have registered for its free online and offline courses.
“When it comes to our graduates, every second resume of a data scientist with 1–3 years of experience in Ukraine has a DataRoot University name on it,” said Frolov. The graduates have gone on to work in top companies and Frolov is sure that 5–10 years from now, they will make their mark on Ukraine and the world beyond.
In the next few years, Frolov hopes to link up with educational establishments in Ukraine to improve tech and science education. He wants to grow DataRoot University beyond Ukraine.
“We have all the fundamentals to accomplish that as the school is in English and we already see people from all over the world registering to our program,” he said. “Our hope is that the school will inspire many to work in science instead of seeking attractive opportunities in other spheres.”
