Darren joined Xtracta in 2017 and leads the AI team. Driven by innovation and a passion for researching new techniques, he continually pushes the boundaries of AI OCR technology, helping Xtracta evolve.

Darren is committed to helping his team both strategically in the bigger picture, and technically with a hands-on approach. Responsible for building and revising the underlying engine behind Xtracta, the AI team lies at the heart of the business and its ability to succeed.

Together, they enhance Xtracta’s ability to extract and interpret data from documents using a comprehensive machine-learning process. This process begins with research as a key component. Darren searches for the newest developments in AI by reading through journals and papers he shares with the team.

From pre-processing to post-processing, their rigorous training pipeline helps inform their direction as a team and how to best improve Xtracta, which requires repeatedly evaluating AI performance at different stages. Darren also develops new features for Xtracta, which requires building high-quality data sets that can be used for machine learning training. A collaborative approach with the engineering team helps support Darren to align goals from a technical perspective.

Darren likes to stay ahead of the latest AI developments in his own time. Learning by doing is important for Darren, who enjoys researching and experimenting with techniques and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Staying active by playing basketball is essential to life outside of work for Darren, a student of the game. A love of the snow also means a weekend away is well spent in Canterbury and other parts of the South Island.