IO21, a new innovative company aimed at providing technological solutions to address people’s needs, has launched its operations in Dubai. With the focus on assisting businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals to transfer their ideas into usable technology, it strives to develop new innovations that can increase quality of life.
IO21 is co-founded by Hailey Yoon (24), who serves as the Chief Technology Officer to lead the company’s long-term technology vision, and who is responsible for building new software products such as artificial intelligence, mobile applications and other software products.
Born in South Korea and educated in the United States of America, Yoon moved to the UAE at the age of 22 to pursue her dream of running a successful technology company that can make a difference. According to a report on Medium.com, approximately 15% of the world population suffers from some kind of disability or impairment. Since mobile apps increasingly play a major role in every day life, this means that approximately one in seven people might not have the same level of access that other app users have.
“At IO21, we make sure that we develop our software with all users in mind. We value our products’ accessibility and usability for the people behind the screen. There could be many great algorithms, but it will be useless if users do not know how to utilize the tools. Therefore, we focus on creating user-friendly and accessible software products. Part of the company’s goal is to create software products and provide tech services that help and assist people, not to replace them,” explains Yoon.
Prior to launching IO21, Yoon worked as a Security Specialist, Teaching Assistant and Senior Software Engineer in her previous roles. From 2017 – 2018, she served as a Research Assistant at the Nuero Image Research and Analysis Lab at UNC Medical School, where she developed the ‘Automatic Extra-Axial Cerebrospinal Fluid (Auto EACSF) software, which became instrumental in the early diagnosis of autism in infants. This is where she developed her passion to create solutions that benefit others.
“During the week, I would research the software that would allow for early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and then on weekends I volunteered at the UNC Children’s Hospital. Volunteering and interacting with many pediatric patients changed my outlook on my research. The countless MRI scans of children collected to test the algorithm pained me, but helped me realize that the software we were developing was more than a computer program or new technology. To the families, our software was a ray of hope. I was grateful that through my development, I could indirectly help others,” says Yoon.
Yoon is currently a part-time student at Stanford University, completing her Postgraduate in Artificial Intelligence. She holds a Bachelor of Science, Computer Science (Honors Degree) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and also completed the ExEd, Leadership & Innovation for Technology Professionals Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
For more information, visithttps://io21.me/