EP7 - Kirin Sinha: Turning AI Research into (Virtual) Reality

Join host Rob Scott as he sits down with Kirin Sinha,founder of Illuminix - the company behind the perception stack powering the next generation of XR, wearables, and physical AI.From entering MIT at 16 to building one of the world’s most advanced computer vision startups, Kirin’s journey is a masterclass in intellectual curiosity and fearless innovation. In this far-ranging conversation, she reflects on the transition from academia to entrepreneurship, the early days of developing mobile AR, and the breakout success of Five Nights at Freddy’s AR, which became a viral global phenomenon.Kirin shares how those early experiments with digital-physical interaction laid the foundation for Illumix’s cutting-edge work with Disney, Six Flags, and MGM - and why she believes contextual computing will redefine how we experience technology. Along the way, she discusses winning against tech giants, raising capital from investors like Lightspeed, Sony, and Mark Cuban, and the new frontier where AI, robotics, and perception meet.Whether you’re a founder building in deep tech, an investor tracking the rise of physical AI, or simply fascinated by how reality itself is being reimagined, Kirin’s story is one of vision, persistence, and purpose.This is the story of how one founder is teaching computers to see like humans - and shaping the next era of real-world computing.