Q&A with Simile CEO Joon Sung Park on claims that its digital twins predict human behavior with 85%+ accuracy, its goal of simulating all 8B people, and more

You can now use simulations to test business decisions with high predicted accuracy before making costly real-world changes.

Simile, an applied AI company, is developing a foundation model of human behavior through the creation of digital twins for real individuals. Led by CEO Joon Sung Park, the company uses these simulations to predict how people might react to various scenarios, with claims of over 85% accuracy in predicting human behavior. Companies like CVS Health are exploring Simile's technology to test new policies, such as pricing strategies, against simulated patient populations before real-world implementation. Similarly, financial institutions can model customer responses to proposed fee changes. Simile has secured over $300 million in funding, achieving a $2 billion valuation, to support its ambitious goal of simulating all 8 billion people and addressing complex global issues like climate change by exploring potential solutions.

Simile's ambition to simulate all 8 billion humans and predict outcomes for 'wicked problems' like climate change signals a paradigm shift in how complex societal challenges might be tackled. By creating digital twins and running simulations, the company aims to move beyond answering specific business questions to exploring potential futures and identifying optimal paths, inspired by concepts like Asimov's psychohistory.

The success of Simile's approach could redefine competitive strategy, potentially centering on proprietary data, compute power, and unique points of view as differentiators in a world where outcomes are highly predictable. This raises questions about the future of traditional strategic planning and whether the discipline itself could become less relevant if future events and reactions are largely foreseeable.