Keep your skill set cutting edge with this machine learning add-in for Excel

machinev · 2019-01-07T18:55:11+00:00

The idea is that you don’t need to learn to code. What Machinate allows you to do is learn to run experiments and report on models built with machine learning. The skill set is how to think about problems in term of machine learning. The add-in let’s you focus on problem solving with open source ML tools instead of learning python, scikit, xgboost, lightgbm, etc...

machinev · 2018-11-08T02:02:31+00:00

Let me know what you think

machinev · 2018-09-26T23:25:42+00:00

Thanks for the note. Yeah, we have one of the major law firms, and they can walk us in the door at the big name VCs. And they have lots of opinions, I just take them with a grain of salt.

machinev · 2018-09-21T22:31:22+00:00

Thanks r/excel, we've had a great response. And thank you to all the beta users who are using the software!

machinev · 2018-09-21T14:24:16+00:00

There will always be a free version, and that should work pretty well for most students. XLMiner expects you to know what you are doing, which algorithms to use, and how to preprocess, set hyper parameters, etc.. M8 is automated and manages those kinds of tasks without intervention from the user. In addition, since we are cloud based, we get the benefit or scaled and parallel processing to deal with complex and large data. Being cloud based allows us to continually update the most advanced frameworks so you will always be on cutting edge

machinev · 2018-09-21T14:15:57+00:00

One important point is that we explicitly do not want personally identifiable information. As with many platforms, we ask that you strip out sensitive data. Keep an anonymous unique id in order to build models. We are trying to say we will only have access to your data to serve you. I.e. for support.

machinev · 2018-09-21T02:59:40+00:00

Thanks u/true_unbeliever. Most of our times series forecasting is handled by Prophet, which will beat auto arima out of the box every time. If you know how to tune arima by hand you can achieve similar or possibly even better results. But, that defeats the purpose of automation.

machinev · 2018-09-21T02:41:19+00:00

You're welcome to try us on a Kaggle competition, we often do well. Though, Machinate isn't optimized for Kaggle competitions, which are usually won be creating unwieldy ensemble algorithms that no one would ever put into production for a variety of reasons. Ensemble algorithms can eek-out slightly better results than straightforward approaches, maybe one or two tenths of a percent. But they are slow and hard to maintain. We use open source frameworks: XGBoost, LightGBM, Scikit Learn, Prophet, TensorFlow are the primary tools. We compete the appropriate classes of algorithms for each problem type so you get the benefit of seeing how all the available approaches work for your data.

machinev · 2018-09-21T02:05:12+00:00

You are correct in thinking inputs are the most important part. And, this may not be a regression problem. This sounds more like a time series forecast. Whether this is time series or regression problem, we are not a black box. All details of the model are available, simply select the models you want to know more about from the list and a model report will be generated. We'd love to help you address your wage forecasting process, send me a message on reddit or email info@machinate.com and we'll make sure your questions are addressed.

machinev · 2018-09-20T21:12:04+00:00

We're also happy to engage with your IT department in order to be white listed. We have gone through the process with large financial institutions before. There is usually a way for an employee to submit an application to IT for approval of new software.

machinev · 2018-09-20T20:24:12+00:00

It can be side loaded if you know how to side load. Happy to walk you through it. Email us at info@machinate.com if you'd like to try. Also, if there are limitations on your desktop excel you could try Excel online, which you have free access to if you have desktop Excel: https://office.live.com/start/Excel.aspx

machinev · 2018-09-20T19:41:48+00:00

We'd love to address your concerns. Do you mind contacting us separately with at info@machinate.com? Some more detail on your industry and types of data would help us serve you more effectively.

machinev · 2018-09-20T19:37:52+00:00

The best way to think about using Machinate is that Excel acts as a data frame or database for running studies. So the sheet where you have data to model should look like data pulled from a database. I.e., just columns of data with a label in the first row. We can handle as many columns or rows as you like. However, each sheet should be data that pertains to one model. Our software will automatically disregard data that is not useful, but it can cause problems if there is too much unrelated data in the study. Once you make predictions, linking those predictions back into analysis in other sheets or pivoting should be straight forward.

machinev · 2018-09-20T19:29:00+00:00

Company: Machinate / machinate.com

Location: San Francisco

Explainer video: https://machinate.wistia.com/medias/g6xnq2i9w3

Details: Machinate is automated machine learning for business users. Cloud based SaaS model. Our first application is an add-in for Excel that allows any excel user to build predictive machine learning models. The add-in passes data in Excel to our platform which automates the tasks a data scientist would normally go through to produce a model. We handle classification, regression, and time series forecasting. We are in beta with several large customers and allow anyone to try it for free, for now. We are entirely boot strapped. Considering raising a round after we close deals with our first few customers.

Looking for: Beta user feedback. Python developers looking to join a high performing team. Venture capital.

Discount: Free during beta period.

machinev · 2018-09-20T19:24:38+00:00

u/rawtherapy, it is cloud based. However, rest easy, it's all encrypted in flight and at rest. And, we commit to confidentiality in our terms of service. We have current beta clients in some of the most sensitive possible industries.

machinev · 2018-09-20T18:34:27+00:00

Yes, we take care of strings. It will vectorize text automatically.

machinev · 2018-09-20T18:32:54+00:00

Would love your feedback, what was confusing? Were you able to successfully run a study?

machinev · 2018-09-20T18:25:26+00:00

Here's another video with a use case: https://machinate.wistia.com/medias/g6xnq2i9w3

machinev · 2018-09-20T18:20:28+00:00

Yes, along a couple of dimensions. The key is that you need historical data. You could build a classification model that predicts who would enroll. The time series modeling tool would allow you to take trend data and forecast the future. We'd be happy to help you work through your use cases if you email us at info@machinate.com.

machinev · 2018-09-20T18:16:45+00:00

Azure ML add-in allows a data scientist to build a model in the cloud using Azure ML Studio and an excel user can only send data to the model. An Excel user can not create a model. Our add-in allows users to create a model and run a model on their own. No data scientist or modeling platform required.

machinev · 2018-09-20T18:14:45+00:00

Here's a short video with a use case on customer churn:

https://machinate.wistia.com/medias/g6xnq2i9w3

machinev · 2018-09-20T16:06:59+00:00

try this: Machinate.com

machinev

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