AI is no longer “the shiny new thing.” AI adoption is still accelerating, but it’s not the buzzword it was 18 months ago. Many tools are readily available off the shelf, so the focus has shifted to applying AI in new and innovative ways, rather than reinventing the wheel.
Artificial Intelligence is transforming industries at a breakneck pace, and the entrepreneurs driving this innovation are at the forefront of this revolution. From groundbreaking applications to ethical considerations, these visionaries are shaping the future of AI. What does it take to innovate in such a rapidly evolving field, and how are these entrepreneurs using AI to solve real-world problems? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Todd Thomas.
Todd Thomas is the Founder and CEO of Woodchuck, a climate impact startup revolutionizing sustainable waste management and green energy production. With a background in connected products and mobility, he previously served as CRO at Aiden Automotive and founded Fast Lane Innovations. His expertise in connected vehicles, IoT, AI, and data science is highlighted by leadership roles at SBD’s Radical Innovation Accelerator and contributions to GM’s OnStar Guardian and Verizon hum.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn more about you. Can you share a bit about your childhood and how you grew up?
I had a great childhood. I went to school, played a lot of sports, caused a little mischief — you know, the usual stuff. My dad was an attorney during the day, but we also had a working farm. So before school and after sports, my brother and I worked the farm. Everything we raised was an opportunity to make a little extra money. You could say I caught the entrepreneurial bug early. If I sold a few more bales of hay, corn, or eggs, I’d have a little extra money to spend on the weekends. It was a pretty great setup.
My brother and I also loved finding ways to hustle outside the farm. We’d sneak onto the local golf course, fish lost golf balls out of the water hazards, clean them up, and sell them back to golfers. In middle school and high school, we sold candy out of our lockers. Later in college and grad school, I designed and sold hats and visors. I also took my first AI class in college at Claremont McKenna in Los Angeles. Back then, AI was purely theoretical — we were debating whether it would even be possible if we had enough computational power. That’s where my fascination with AI began.
Can you share the most interesting story that has happened to you since you began your career?
It’s been incredible to watch — and be a part of — the technological revolution over the last few decades. When I was in college, no one had their own computer. We all used a shared computer lab and programmed in languages like C, C++, BASIC, Pascal, FORTRAN, and COBOL. Back then, AI was this far-off, theoretical concept. We were calculating statistical equations by hand or writing code to solve them.
Fast forward to grad school, and things had started to shift. We weren’t just studying statistics anymore — we were studying data science. The focus was on finding the largest datasets we could and using software to analyze them. The challenge at the time was that big datasets were rare.
Then the connected technology boom happened. The internet connected computers, smartphones turned into supercomputers, and suddenly, data collection exploded. Computational power kept getting better and better, and AI went from being an idea to something practical.
The speed of innovation has been insane. Five years ago, building a computer vision MVP would’ve taken a team of engineers and PhDs years to develop. Now, you can use tools like Google AI or Amazon AI to create a basic image recognition model in under an hour. Watching AI evolve from a niche concept to an everyday tool has been amazing.
None of us can achieve success without help along the way. Is there a particular person you are especially grateful to, who helped you get to where you are today? Can you share a story about them?
About eight years ago, Jonathan Matus and Pankaj Risbood invited me to join their startup, Zendrive, in San Francisco, and that moment was a game-changer for me. Zendrive was at the cutting edge of AI/ML, edge computing, and cloud technology. It was the quintessential startup experience — a small, brilliant team working crazy hours in this industrial-chic office space. We had nap pods, a pool table, catered meals, snacks, coffee — everything to keep you going through late nights that turned into early mornings.
At Zendrive, we built the world’s most efficient and accurate driver behavior and collision detection SDK. I was one of the first non-engineering hires, initially running all of business development myself. Over time, I built out teams for marketing, customer success, and sales engineering. We landed partnerships with companies like Life360, GM, Verizon, and GasBuddy. It was an incredible experience that hooked me on startups, innovation, and staying at the forefront of technology. I’ll always be grateful to Jonathan and Pankaj for bringing me into that world.
Can you please share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? How has it been relevant to you?
You know the quote, “Follow your passion, and you’ll never work a day in your life”? Yeah, I think that’s a load of BS. It’s such an unrealistic expectation for most people. Sure, it’s a nice idea, but how many people actually achieve that? Maybe 1%, if that.
Instead, I like the idea of “Follow your contribution.” Ask yourself, “Where can I make an impact? Where can I contribute to success?” That’s a much more realistic approach. It doesn’t mean you won’t work hard, and it doesn’t mean you’ll love every Monday morning, but it does mean you can build a career that’s fulfilling and gives you a sense of accomplishment.
What inspired you to start working with AI? Was there a particular problem or opportunity that motivated you?
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been interested in AI since college, but my experience at Zendrive was the moment I realized AI had truly arrived. At Zendrive, we built an SDK for mobile apps that used phone sensors to collect and analyze data, identifying driver behaviors to make driving safer. We could even detect collisions with incredible accuracy — down to 5 mph.
The data we worked with was messy — noisy, with lots of static. But we developed algorithms to clean it up and figure out what was happening. For example, we could tell whether the phone was in someone’s pocket, a purse on the front seat, or a cup holder. Once we pinpointed the phone’s location and orientation, we could start analyzing driver behaviors and even detect collisions. It was powerful stuff. That experience convinced me that AI wasn’t just theoretical anymore — it was real, practical, and capable of making a huge impact.
Talk about a challenge you faced when working with AI. How did you overcome it, and what was the outcome?
My most recent project is Woodchuck.ai, where we focus on driving efficiencies and sustainability in waste diversion and renewable energy. We work with contractors, manufacturers, and biomass energy producers to transform waste into valuable resources, reduce landfill use, and provide a steady supply of renewable biomass.
The challenge — and the opportunity — was that this industry was completely untouched by technology. Processes were manual, inefficient, and expensive. Most companies saw sustainability as an extra cost. We wanted to flip that and show how AI could turn sustainability into a cost-saving tool.
At first, we looked at off-the-shelf AI models and datasets, but none of them fit our needs. So we decided to build our platform and AI models from scratch. We created our own dataset by taking and tagging thousands of photos, and we even built our own solar-powered, LTE-enabled image capture system. This allowed us to deploy image capture anywhere, without relying on external power or internet connections.
To accelerate our AI’s development, we also used AI-generated 3D images based on our proprietary dataset. These models let us simulate scenarios and speed up the learning process. The result? A platform that tracks materials from origin to destination, lowers costs, reduces landfill use, and provides a renewable biomass supply — all while shrinking our partners’ carbon footprints.
Based on your experience, can you share “Four Things You Need to Know to Help Shape the Future of AI”?
- Start with the problem.
Don’t create a tool and then look for a problem to solve. Always start with the problem you’re trying to address. AI is incredibly versatile, but success comes from designing the right solution for the job. - Data hygiene is critical.
Bad data can destroy your algorithm. Poorly labeled, incomplete, or erroneous data will slow progress and may force you to start over. Be meticulous about data quality — it’s one of the most important factors in your success. - AI is not AGI.
AI is great at pattern recognition and repetitive tasks, but it’s not Artificial General Intelligence. We’re nowhere near machines that can think and act like humans. AI is powerful, but let’s not oversell where we’re at. - AI is no longer “the shiny new thing.”
AI adoption is still accelerating, but it’s not the buzzword it was 18 months ago. Many tools are readily available off the shelf, so the focus has shifted to applying AI in new and innovative ways, rather than reinventing the wheel.
What excites you most about the future of AI, and how do you see your work contributing to that future?
AI pushes boundaries, creates efficiencies, and opens up new opportunities. I’m excited to see how companies like Zendrive, Aiden Auto, and Woodchuck.ai apply AI to solve real problems — whether it’s improving road safety, automating repetitive tasks, or turning waste into renewable energy. The potential for AI to make meaningful, positive change is enormous, and I’m proud to be part of that journey.
Is there someone in the world you’d love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?
I’d love to sit down with Rana el Kaliouby and Gabi Zijderveld. They’ve been at the forefront of AI for years, and their new venture, Blue Tulip, focuses on human-centric AI — AI that’s ethical, beneficial for people, and good for the planet. I’d love to hear their thoughts on where AI is headed, both in the near term and long term, and how we can shape its future for the better.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
Todd Thomas Of Woodchuck On Pushing the Boundaries of AI was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.