Tal Barmeir was born and raised in Israel. Eager to learn from a young age, Tal excelled in her academic pursuits. She completed her secondary school education at Handesaaim High School in Tel Aviv. One of the top schools in Israel, Handesaaim specialises in science and technological subjects such as engineering, biotechnology, and computer science. Graduating with the highest GPA in her school, Tal’s stellar academic record allowed her access to the Interdisciplinary Program for Outstanding Students programme of Tel Aviv University. As part of this programme, Tal was permitted to continue her studies before enlisting for mandatory military service. Where most of her peers would begin their military service at just eighteen years of age, Tal dove head first into her studies. Attending Tel Aviv university, she studied 1st and 2nd degree Law and Economics. After three and a half years of education, she graduated with Honours in 1995. Dedicated to her work and relentless in her pursuit of success, Tal proved to be an outstanding student, receiving Magna Cum Laude in Law and Summa Cum Laude in economics.
Once she completed her studies, Tal enlisted for mandatory service in the Israeli Defence Forces. There, she served as a lieutenant in the Israeli international law division. Following this, she achieved an MBA in marketing at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. After a self-enriching year in the Parisian suburb, Tal was recruited on campus by Accenture to work with their high-tech strategy division in London. Her 2 years as strategy manager would see Tal coordinating a number of projects in the UK, Sweden, and Ireland before returning home to Israel in 2001.
Upon her return, she worked for a telecommunications startup before being hired as Marketing Director for Comverse in 2003. Having amassed a significant repertoire of skills and experience, Tal founded her first company in 2006, a marketing consultancy firm specialising in online and product marketing. It was around this time that Tal was introduced to fellow entrepreneur Guy Arieli. He had just sold his own startup company Aqua Software. The pair met over coffee to discuss their next venture and, based on their combined vast experience, decided to join forces. In 2009 they established Experitest, a company which provided a SaaS mobile testing platform for Enterprise applications. Combining Guy’s technical expertise and Tal’s business acumen, Experitest proved a huge success, with Barclays UK and HSBC among their first clients and 7 data centres worldwide in UK, Germany, US, Canada, Singapore, Australia and Israel. The pair eventually sold their company in 2020 to TPG Capital (an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas) where they continued to work under its new name, Digital.ai.
As established experts in the field of software development and testing, and thinking to the future, Tal and Guy discussed the idea of fully autonomous testing powered by Artificial Intelligence. Throughout Tal’s time at Experitest, the need for a streamlined and innovative solution to tedious software testing became apparent even though the technology required was not yet available. Harbouring an ambition to invoke real change in the industry, the two persevered, monitoring the market for new technologies, solutions and different ways of thinking. It wasn’t until 2023 that they made a breakthrough. With the advent of generative AI and the rapid advancement of AI technology across other sectors, Guy revisited the concept of virtual testing with Tal and the pair swiftly began work. Shortly after, they officially established BlinqIO. Already well-versed in the realm of software testing, the final piece of the puzzle allowed Tal and Guy to develop a fully functioning, ready-for-market product in a matter of months.
Company: BlinqIO
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company
Tal Barmeir: My name is Tal Barmeir and I am Co-founder and CEO of BlinqIO. Together with my Co-founder Guy Arieli, we’ve developed AI Test Engineer, a solution designed to revolutionize the testing domain. We are hugely passionate about leveraging the latest technological advances to address and simplify complex testing challenges.
Before BlinqIO, I co-founded Experitest (today digital.ai) alongside Guy. After selling the company we began exploring new opportunities. It was this journey, coupled with our shared love for software and innovation that led us to create BlinqIO.
My vision for BlinqIO is to continue pushing the boundaries of technology to tackle complex challenges in software testing, making these processes more efficient and effective for companies around the globe.
What specific areas of your business have been most impacted by AI, and how?
Tal Barmeir: AI has significantly impacted several key areas of our business from Automated Testing (we are using our own AI Test Engineer to create test automation code for our product itself) to creating meeting summaries and providing us with much needed marketing insights. Through these applications, AI has become a vital asset in enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and strategic decision-making across our organization.
How are you ensuring ethical considerations are taken into account in your use of AI?
Tal Barmeir: I think that, as BlinqIO uses GenAI to create test automation code for software functionality there is not much ethical risk. We are just testing our software and ensuring it does what it was meant to. I believe that AI tools which are defining product functionality to start with are where AI ethical considerations come more into play.
What advice would you give to other CEOs looking to integrate AI into their business?
Tal Barmeir: I would tell the CEO to do it strategically. I would advise them to identify high-impact use cases and to start with areas where AI can make a tangible difference, like streamlining operations or enhancing customer experience. Focused applications create measurable wins that build momentum. I would also advise them to build AI literacy across teams. They can do this through fostering an AI-aware culture by educating teams on its potential and limitations. When your team understands AI, they’ll integrate it more effectively and identify new opportunities. From sales, to R&D, to support – all employees should understand the value of AI in their respective areas and not fear it but rather embrace it to become more productive and remove a lot of the nitty gritty work that no one anyway likes to do.
How do you see AI evolving in your industry over the next 5 years?
Tal Barmeir: I think that, in the next five years, GenAI will remove a lot of the tedious parts of work and allow humans to manage and take strategic decisions rather than run around their tails trying to deliver tons of work against deadlines. In software testing there is currently a huge backlog as test automation coders are difficult to find. I believe that the GenAI revolution in software testing enables us to unplug this bottleneck by leveraging LLM test agents to boost test automation coding in no time.
