Pioneering Predictive Intelligence: Julian Saks’ Vision for the Future of AI
Written by: Monica Garza | January 2025
Meet Julian Saks, a fourth-year undergraduate economics major at The University of Texas at Austin, whose entrepreneurial journey led to the creation of his AI startup, Damus. Saks and his team focus on building predictive intelligence. Damus focuses on running simulations to predict human behavior, enabling businesses and creators to make better decisions across marketing, e-commerce, product testing, and other sectors. “Our mission is to help users simulate their audience reactions and better approach decision-making by learning from the simulation results,” he explains.
Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Saks attended prestigious St. John’s College. Despite his academic rigor, Saks wasn’t exposed to the vast possibilities within the entrepreneurship space. “In South Africa, there’s not such a strong sense of entrepreneurship… there isn’t that openness or drive to pursue entrepreneurial ventures at 15 or 16 years old,” he explained. At 18, Saks immigrated to the United States to attend UT Austin, where he was exposed to new and diverse opportunities. “There’s not exactly pressure, but there’s a strong drive to figure things out — you’re in a new country, and you’re here for a reason,” he reflected. Saks’ ambition to make the most out of his new environment fueled his drive toward innovation.
Initially having an academic interest in business economics, this would soon expand as his curiosity for technology and problem-solving led him to entrepreneurship and engineering. A large contributor to his piqued interests were the exceptional professors he encountered as a student. During his freshman year, Saks was mentored by Professor Sriram Vishwanath from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. “He actively fueled my curiosity, encouraging me to explore any clubs or fields that I believed were essential for my personal growth and development.” Saks then went on to explore UT Austin’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Soon enough, his immersion in the space led to him pursuing various leadership roles within student organizations. As the president of Texas Blockchain, Saks helped it grow into one of the world’s largest university blockchain organizations, working with major enterprises in the field. In addition to his leadership in Longhorn Neurotech and being a researcher under FinTech Lab, Saks was also involved in Texas Momentum and Texas Venture Group.
“It was about taking personal initiative — getting involved on campus, stepping into leadership roles as a club president, and collaborating with organizations and industry enterprises,” he shared.
In early 2024 Saks and other UT students launched Memary, an open-source AI project, through Texas Momentum. Memary worked toward replicating how people store and retrieve memories in artificial systems. “Memory isn’t what you knew 50 years ago. It’s about how do you get to what you knew 50 years ago and actually being able to recite that and do that again. That’s what memory is,” he explained. With large success, Memary gained over 250,000 visits and 2,000 GitHub stars. It also laid the foundation for his next and current venture, Damus.
Damus builds on these concepts but takes the specialized approach of applying them toward predicting human behavior. By running AI-first simulations, Damus provides its users with insightful analysis on how audiences respond to marketing campaigns, e-commerce listings, product features and even political speeches. Saks explains: “Imagine you’re Nike launching a new running shoe. With Damus, you can simulate audience reactions to different ad campaigns before releasing them, helping you identify the one that resonates best with your target demographic.” The technology provides actionable feedback by generating realistic personas, simulating their preferences, behavior, and budgets. “We’re empowering decision-makers with insights from these simulations to optimize outcomes and minimize risk,” Saks added.
Saks is currently based in San Francisco as he works to further develop Damus, immersed in the heart of the US west coast tech scene. He and his team are currently working on developments that will generalize Damus’ predictive capabilities to support more sectors. “Our goal is to simulate millions of people and understand their reactions to changes in the market, campaigns, or policies. Whether it’s selling a product or writing a speech, every audience is unique, and we help tailor solutions to their needs,” he explained. Damus is also looking toward exploring simulations for economic policies, HR, as well as physical areas.
Engaging in the various entrepreneurship resources in UT Austin’s startup ecosystem, Saks has been able to expand his network and startup trajectory. Through the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center (HKEC), he participated in pitch competitions, gained valuable feedback, and built relationships with other student founders.
“The feedback you gain from judges, that’s why you go there. That’s why you actually try to put yourself out there, take the feedback, and iterate on it. It’s all about continuous improvement,” Saks explained.
Being able to connect and work with some of the best engineers on his startup, Saks attributes much of his growth to the plethora of resources offered at UT Austin. Getting involved in entrepreneurship has opened many doors to the world of networking and collaboration. Saks also received the opportunity to conduct research under Professor Fracassi, Head of UT Austin’s FinTech Lab, as well as hold meetings with US senators. Saks also expressed the importance of using one’s time in college to try out different ideas and experiment with entrepreneurship.
“University is the best environment to fail. Try as much as you can, figure out where your curiosity lies, and go from there,” he said.
For students that are also interested in pursuing entrepreneurship, Julian offers his advice: be curious and embrace failure. “Join clubs, explore resources, and talk to your peers,” he advised. “The most important thing is to be in love with the problem you’re solving, not just the solution you’re providing.” He also spoke out about the importance of taking initiative in your entrepreneurship journey. “You can’t wait for opportunities to come to you. You have to create them.”
As Julian prepares to graduate, he reflects on the many opportunities that entrepreneurship has given him. “Entrepreneurship gives me the autonomy to pursue my vision and take accountability for my success and failures,” he said. On the horizon for Damus, the company aims to unlock predictive intelligence across sectors. For those looking to start their own startup journey, he offers his last piece of advice: “Take risks, embrace failure, and keep learning. That’s where the magic happens.”
This article is from the FOUNDER STORIES series, a feature article series published by the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center (HKEC) that highlights UT Austin student founder success stories and how the HKEC has played a role in their entrepreneurship journey. The HKEC offers a variety of dynamic resources to UT Austin students, including competitive funding opportunities, networking events, informative article series, mentorship and more.
To learn more about the entrepreneurship resources that the HKEC has to offer, visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter to get involved with future opportunities!
