Gaming Industrial Assets with AI Simulation

Host Melissa Rizzuto welcomes her guests: Bruno Rizzuto and Dumitru Cernelev who share the story behind Explica, their innovative AI and simulation company revolutionizing decision-making for industrial assets. They delve into how their platform, Oxygen, creates "simulation twins" – alive, interactive virtual realities of complex operations like mining and supply chains, differentiating it from traditional digital twins. Explica integrates contextualized large language models to allow users to ask systems-level questions, moving beyond fragmented approaches and outdated tools like spreadsheets. The discussion also covers the evolution of the Alberta startup ecosystem, the changing perception of AI in the marketplace, and crucial advice for entrepreneurs, emphasizing speed, transparency, and the importance of diverse perspectives in building future-proof businesses. Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast where we showcase fascinating people who are Leaders, Innovators, and have Big Ideas! HOST Melissa Rizzuto Melissa is a talent acquisition and recruitment strategy professional with 20 years of experience partnering with founders and leadership teams to build high-performing teams, improve hiring processes, and create meaningful candidate experiences. Her background spans full-cycle recruitment, recruitment technology, employer branding, and recruitment marketing. A lifelong Calgarian, Melissa holds a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Calgary, an Executive Leadership Certificate from eCornell University, and a Mini MBA in Engineering & Technology Management from Rutgers Business School. She is also actively involved in community initiatives, including 17 years with the UNICEF Water for Life Gala and volunteer work supporting newcomers through Immigrant Services Calgary. Outside of work, Melissa enjoys dogs, sports, creative writing, and keeping up with emerging technology. GUEST Bruno Rizzuto Bruno Rizzuto, CEO and Co-Founder of Explica, is a technology and innovation leader with more than two decades of experience turning complex ideas into opportunities. His career has taken him across industries including energy and mining, where he has seen firsthand how technology can transform the way organizations understand problems, make decisions, and operate. As an entrepreneur, Bruno is particularly passionate about breaking down the barriers that keep powerful technology out of reach for smaller organizations. His vision for Explica is rooted in making advanced simulation more accessible—and ultimately taking an Alberta-born idea to a global audience. Dumitru Cernelev Dumitru Cernelev, CIO and Co-Founder of Explica, is an engineer at heart with a passion for understanding how things work—and figuring out how to make them work better. His technical career spans engineering, simulation, optimization, and technology development, giving him a deep understanding of how to model complex systems and turn data and engineering principles into practical tools. Dumitru brings the technical curiosity and problem-solving mindset behind Explica's technology. He thrives on taking something complicated, breaking it down into its fundamental pieces, and building a smarter way forward. For him, the challenge isn't just developing sophisticated technology—it's making that technology genuinely useful to the people who need it. LINKS & RESOURCES Explica Inc. Mount Royal University Audio Rooms Talent Incubator Partners SHOW QUOTES "I think that goes to show that the way technology is moving today, that regardless of your background technology has a place to play." "What do we do? We do gaming for industrial assets. We're really creating a very-- we're taking a very complex operating assets and complicated operations...and we're turning into the virtual reality, a game." "The AI train is out of the box. It's not coming back... it's gonna be a fundamental component in how people build their businesses in the future with the generations that are coming, and it's coming quick." CREDITS Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan Sponsor: New Idea Machine Inc.