Two Singapore Polytechnic students build AI tool Broby to help vets save time

SINGAPORE – What started as a personal struggle with their own dogs has become an entrepreneurial success story for two 18-year-olds at Singapore Polytechnic (SP). 

Second-year business students Hyuga Karamochi and Caleb Yap Keane Yang have made impressive headway with their start-up, Broby, an artificial intelligence (AI) transcribing tool that automates medical documentation for veterinarians. 

The idea of starting a business related to pets germinated when Hyuga’s four-year-old toy poodle Abby had to wear the Elizabethan collar after minor surgery in 2024.

But feedback for their initial business idea from veterinarians was not promising. They were told that such bandages are not new and most dogs would find a way to chew off even the bitterest patch.

Through the SP Overseas Entrepreneurship Immersion Programme and WaveSparks’ Young Founders Summit, Hyuga and Caleb were introduced to Dr Vanessa Lin from My Family Vet in Singapore and Dr Daniel Wilfred of Vet Partners in Johor Bahru. Both agreed to help them pilot and refine their idea.

With the two vets providing valuable real-life data, the students built Broby – a Chrome extension and web application that uses speech-to-text technology to transcribe and summarise veterinary consultations. The software will generate complete consultation notes in real time, addressing the critical pain point of the massive hours spent on paperwork.

Unlike generic AI solutions, Broby is custom-trained on veterinary terminology and the unique characteristics of veterinary workflows.

“We realised that vets sometimes speak three or four languages and dialects in the same consultation. So, our AI needed to be able to handle Singlish, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and Japanese – not just standard English or American accents,” said Hyuga, a Singapore PR.

Read the full article here: https://www.straitstimes.com/life/two-singapore-polytechnic-students-build-ai-tool-broby-pets-to-help-vets-save-time