This month, I had the pleasure of speaking to Matthew Ambrogi, a QUEST alumnus from Cohort 27, who is a co-founder of PalateAI, an AI-powered app that transforms text content into audio podcasts.

Matthew Ambrogi, co-founder of PalateAI

Read more: Alumnus Matthew Ambrogi Transforms Text into Talk

While initially a mechanical engineering major, Matthew realized that his interests spanned both engineering and business. Under the mentorship of then QUEST associate director Pamela Armstrong, Ambrogi created and completed his own custom interdisciplinary major through Maryland’s Individual Studies Program called Engineering and Product Management.

“QUEST was the bridge between engineering and business for me,” Ambrogi explained. “It introduced me to the idea of product management and opened my eyes to tech as a career path.”

The foundation he built at Maryland laid the groundwork for his first professional role as a product manager at Capital One, but it wasn’t long before he felt the urge to branch out on his own. Ambrogi decided to leave his job at Capital One to start his own project. “I felt like I was good at product management, but I wanted to build products myself,” he says.

He spent six months teaching himself to code, experimenting with personal projects, and exploring AI by working with APIs at the start of 2022. 

After being approached by his co-founder with this app idea, the two began working on PalateAI. The app can take text content from a variety of sources– articles, essays, PDFs –and create audio podcasts that summarize the relevant information in an engaging way. Ambrogi said, “Just because something you know exists as text doesn’t necessarily mean that it needs to stay that way.” The customer base for Palate includes students, busy professionals, and parents– all groups that can utilize the flexibility of audio content. 

Starting a company hasn’t been without its challenges. Ambrogi balances his role as the app’s head of engineering with his full-time job as an applied AI software engineer. “Time management is the hardest part,” he said. “Some days, I’m negotiating deals with content creators, troubleshooting a bug, and writing code— all while managing a day job.”

Despite the demanding schedule, Ambrogi is energized by the variety of tasks that come with entrepreneurship. “If I’m tired of coding, I can focus on sales or customer feedback,” he says. “It’s exciting to have so much control over the direction of the product.”

PalateAI is focusing on improving the quality of its audio summaries, balancing conversational tone with detailed content summarization. Ambrogi adds, “Imagine if you didn’t do the reading for class, and your friend tells you everything you need to know. We try to make it engaging and conversational like that.”

As Palate gains traction, the team is exploring new features, such as supporting YouTube videos, integrating with platforms like Google Drive, and integrating paid text content platforms with authentication. 

Ambrogi recommends that students pursue their own personal projects. He said, “The deeper you get into a project of your own, the less it feels like work. Because it’s something you’ve brought to life.”

For Ambrogi, being in QUEST was an opportunity to learn how to work with other passionate people. He said that QUEST students all care deeply about their work. Ambrogi said, “When people actually care, you’re going to disagree and have a variety of ideas. And I think that QUEST teaches you how to work well on a team with people. Whether it’s in the corporate [world] or a co-founder, those collaborative skills from QUEST are extremely useful.” Check out PalateAI at https://www.palateai.app/.