An interview with… Intuitive AI

Recycling is simple in theory but it’s tricky in practice. Only 9% of global plastic gets recycled and the average recycling contamination rate is around 1 in 4 items.

These stats are disappointing and suggest that while people want to waste less, they’re struggling to find the right ways to do so, or the motivation.

The pioneers behind Intuitive AI are on a mission to fix this. Their zero waste AI platform is revolutionising the practice of recycling to make it far more feasible, accurate, rewarding, and fun. And after just a few years, the platform’s making an impact globally by being rolled out by major brands and at epic events.

Let’s find out more about their zero-waste wizardry.

First things first, can you give us a quick run-through of your platform and products?

Intuitive AI is transforming waste management with the Oscar Zero-Waste Platform—featuring Oscar Sort, Oscar Media Exchange, Oscar Pixel, Oscar Pocket, and Oscar Analytics. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, universities, airports, media, and sports and entertainment venues, Oscar is changing the game.

Oscar Sort, our AI Recycling Assistant, pushes recycling accuracy as high as 96%, boosts diversion rates, and helps reduce CO2 emissions. It’s simple: just show Oscar your item, and it directs you to the right bin. Plus, Oscar offers brands a unique way to connect with customers through interactive displays, videos, offers, and trivia during the recycling moment.

 

What inspired you to try and empower a zero waste world – is there a personal story behind that?

Hassan Murad and Vivek Vyas co-founded Intuitive AI driven by a mission to combat the global waste crisis. Growing up in Pakistan and India, they witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of waste on their communities and the environment. Combining their passion for robotics and AI, they launched Intuitive AI in 2017 with a single goal: to lead the way toward a cleaner, more sustainable world.

At Intuitive AI, we’re on a mission to end the burning, dumping, and polluting of materials across land, sea, and even space. We make it easy for businesses and consumers to recycle, while also generating revenue for properties—helping to protect our planet and build a brighter future for everyone.

We’ve heard some of the ugly stats, such as how 91% of plastic waste globally doesn’t get recycled. Why are recycling rates remaining so low?

While recycling is more important than ever, people often skip it for various reasons—like inconvenience, lack of time or space, forgetting, or even distrust in the system. Most people don’t realise that plastic is in so many products we use on a daily basis. Brands should also be responsible for educating people on what to do with their products when they are done with them. Another big factor is that there’s often no strong legal push to recycle.

Recycling at the bin is confusing. Rules change from place to place, and it’s easy to make mistakes. Many of us have tossed something in the recycling bin, hoping it’s right—this is called “wish cycling,” and it contaminates the recyclables.

That’s where Oscar Sort comes in. This AI-powered recycling assistant helps you sort materials accurately in real time, eliminating confusion and making recycling easy.

Oscar is such a great invention, as many folk struggle to recycle. What are some of the challenges in getting more businesses to adopt the tech?

You’re right— and most businesses are excited to jump on board once they see how Oscar boosts recycling rates. One of the main hurdles we’ve faced historically has been cost. Oscar usually falls under sustainability budgets, which are often pretty slim and tend to get cut if the economy takes a downturn. But we’ve recently tackled that challenge with the launch of our Oscar Materials & Media Exchange (OMX). The OMX transforms Oscar’s interactive display into a platform for Video, CTV, and Digital-Out-Of-Home advertising, letting businesses play media, promote products, and use QR codes. By generating ad revenue, businesses can create new income streams and grow their sustainability budget—rather than cut into it. Pretty cool, right?

What are the firms using Intuitive AI’s platform at the moment? Startups, big firms, brands already focused on sustainability etc.?

The Oscar platform is global, working across all sectors and organizations of every size. Basically, anywhere there’s a bin, Oscar can step in to help boost recycling. We’ve partnered with a wide range of places—from airports and universities to malls, stadiums, offices, theme parks, and even major events. Some of the big names using our platform include Amazon, Meta, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Sodexo, and Aramark. We’re also in tourist hotspots and attractions like the San Francisco Exploratorium, Detroit Zoo, London’s Sky Garden, Ball Arena, TD Stadium, and Pikes Peak. So, whether it’s a startup, a major brand, or a large-scale event, Oscar is helping businesses and venues make sustainability happen.

We were fascinated to read about a gamification element to your solutions. How does that work?

Oscar’s interactive display makes recycling fun by gamifying the whole experience. When you approach the bin, Oscar “nudges” you toward the right disposal bin with real-time feedback, turning what can be a confusing moment into something engaging. We’ve also added rewards—recycle correctly, and you might get a QR code for rewards and discounts or even entry into raffles. Plus, we throw in trivia that can be customized to the venue. Imagine being at a Taylor Swift concert and scoring 10% off your next drink because you nailed 2 out of 3 Taylor Swift trivia questions. It’s recycling but way more fun than you’ve ever had at the bin!

You’ve recently launched a collaboration with WildAid – can you tell us a bit more about that and do you have any other exciting collabs you’ve worked on?

We’re really excited about our collaboration with WildAid! By combining AI with WildAid’s conservation efforts, we’re driving global sustainability and climate education. Starting this month, WildAid’s climate literacy campaigns will be running on the Oscar Materials & Media Exchange (OMX), guiding people toward eco-friendly choices in shopping, food, home, and transportation.

Over the years, we’ve forged some great partnerships. Recently, we’ve teamed up with reuse companies like Friendlier, r.World, Bold Reuse, and Reusables.com to help build a circular economy in high-traffic places like campuses, airports, and stadiums. These collaborations are helping us integrate reusables into our tech, reducing waste even further.

What are your thoughts on the debate between AI producing a large amount of emissions vs AI being used for good?

The environmental impact of AI is an important issue, especially as large AI models require significant energy. But here’s the good news: Oscar operates on the edge (processing data closer to the source), making it highly energy-efficient—using roughly the power of a small computer and monitor.Yet in high-traffic areas, Oscar can offset the CO2 equivalent of 10-20 cars annually by helping divert materials.

Our goal is to double global recycling rates and reduce annual carbon emissions by 25%—the equivalent of removing 2 billion cars from the road. Pretty impactful, right?

Can you give us a sneak preview of any products down the line for Intuitive?

One of the most game-changing innovations is our Oscar Materials & Media Exchange (OMX). With world-leading brands and media publishers already involved, OMX doesn’t just boost recycling accuracy (up to 96.1%)—it’s also the first materials management tech that generates ad impressions.

What’s cool is that OMX unlocks Oscar’s potential to generate ad revenue, which helps fund our global expansion. The more ad revenue we bring in, the more Oscars we can deploy, and the more materials we can recover—billions of dollars in material value. A virtuous circle. It’s truly a win-win-win.

We’re building the largest circularity network by tapping into our partners’ pre-built networks. Big names are placing Oscars in high-traffic areas, while media agencies are helping design these sustainable experiences. Exciting times ahead.

If Intuitive could choose its most important message to spread, what would it be?

If Intuitive could choose its most important message, it would be this: become an active participant in the world we share. Every small choice we make, every item we sort correctly, brings us closer to a cleaner, brighter future.

For advertisers, agencies, and producers, the responsibility is yours too. Lead by example and educate people. Let’s modernize our waste systems and educate people at the source. Together, we can solve the waste challenge.

This isn’t just an ideal—it’s a future we can start building today. By shifting waste management from a centralized burden to a shared responsibility, we’re not just fixing a problem—we’re changing the way we think as a society.

Keen on learning more about Intuitive AI’s pioneering technology? Head over to their website for more information.