For Anika Stein, CEO of CAMINNO, the challenge was not building the technology. Instead, it was ensuring that the technology met the exact needs of the world’s most demanding industries. While her background in nuclear fusion and defense provided the technical foundation, the Aggie I-Corps program at New Mexico State University provided the market clarity needed to scale.
CAMINNO launched with a bold mission to revolutionize engineering design and manufacturing. The company’s hybrid AI platform integrates the computational power of artificial intelligence with traditional simulations. This creates a high-performance tool capable of the following:
- Accelerating development timelines by 50%.
- Reducing costs by 30%.
- Providing real-time quality control in sectors where reliability is paramount, such as aerospace, geothermal energy, and nuclear fusion.
Despite the platform’s transformative potential, Stein recognized that technology alone would not drive adoption in complex organizations. She turned to the I-Corps program to validate market hypotheses and refine her communication strategy.
Through the structured customer discovery process, the team moved beyond their initial focus on nuclear fusion. By testing their assumptions directly with industry professionals, they identified that their solution had significant impact across various engineering sectors where design and manufacturing have historically been disconnected.
One of the most significant breakthroughs occurred when the team discovered a hidden value proposition. While CAMINNO initially led with its speed, customer conversations revealed that continuous verification and validation was the true game changer for industries like aerospace.
“Verification and validation are huge topics, especially in aerospace,” Stein noted. “We knew our tool could do it, but we didn’t fully recognize it as a feature customers saw as a major asset until we went through I-Corps”.
The program’s impact extended beyond product features, fundamentally changing how CAMINNO engages with the market. Stein emphasizes that the biggest takeaway was learning to listen first. By uncovering customer needs through targeted questioning rather than leading with a sales pitch, the company has sharpened its product prioritization and customer engagement.
Today, CAMINNO is in a revenue stage, having already secured impactful contracts and entered the market in early 2025. As they prepare for their next phase of growth, Stein’s advice to fellow innovators is simple: “Be open for it. You never know what insights you’ll discover that can change the trajectory of your business”.
To learn more about their technology, visit: https://caminno.ai/
