Podcast Summary: Founder's Story – The Sense That Controls Your Emotions—And Why Tech Is Finally Hacking It
Episode 305 with Siddhartha Kunti, Founder of Studio SK
Date: February 9, 2026
Host: IBH Media
Overview
In this episode of Founder's Story, host Dan from IBH Media interviews Siddhartha Kunti, founder of Studio SK, about his groundbreaking work at the intersection of scent, technology, AI, and human emotion. The conversation dives into why scent is such a powerful sense, how it directly connects to our emotions, and why technological advancements are only now beginning to "hack" this elusive human sense. Siddhartha shares his personal journey, the science behind scent perception, and the immense potential of digitizing scent—from revolutionizing health and wellness to transforming retail and education.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
The Moment of Inspiration and Siddhartha’s Background
[01:35]
- Siddhartha’s passion for scent traces back to childhood experiences with his beekeeper grandfather, comparing honeys by scent and flavor.
- Trigger event: A 2018 visit to a Japanese whiskey distillery, where he realized the potential for using AI to decode flavors and aromas.
- Connection to technology: Siddhartha previously worked in AI for surgical planning and saw parallels between pattern recognition in AI and the complexity of scent.
Notable Quote
“What if we could use that pattern recognition that AI is so good at to actually understand where flavor comes from?”
— Siddhartha Kunti, [01:56]
Why Scent Has Been “The Forgotten Sense”
[03:00 - 04:39]
- Scent is crucial to daily life yet remains the least understood and least taught sense (referencing Prof. Jonap Olaf Olufsen and his book "The Forgotten Sense").
- Cultural and individual variations enormously complicate the perception and description of scents.
- Historical anecdotes, like London’s "pheromone parties," highlight scent’s role in social connection.
Notable Quote
“At school you get taught to read, to write, to see, to hear, but we never get taught to smell.”
— Siddhartha Kunti, [03:50]
The Challenge and Opportunity of Digitizing Scent
[05:31 - 08:06]
- Complexity: Millions of molecules, plus subjective human and cultural interpretation, make digitization challenging.
- AI as the key: Only recent advances in machine learning and big data analytics have made large-scale scent analysis possible.
- Example: Analyzing 830 beverages (690 whiskeys), leading to analyzing 65,000+ lines of molecular data.
Notable Quote
“What might smell to you as vanilla might smell as orange to somebody else, or they might just label it differently...smell is not just molecules hitting your olfactory receptors. It's also the cultural connotation.”
— Siddhartha Kunti, [05:51]
Building a Scent 'LLM' (Large Language Model) and Its Social Impact
[08:06 - 10:55]
- Proposal: Creating a scent LLM, combining massive molecular data with global subjective descriptors.
- COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of scent in well-being; anosmia (loss of scent) often causes depression.
- Smell triggers memory and emotion; recognizing its absence gives clues about its unseen power.
- Scent’s diagnostic potential: A woman could sense Alzheimer's in her husband before a clinical diagnosis.
Notable Quote
“Covid showed us what society looks like if people lose their sense of smell...you become pretty depressed because a lot of the way your brain works is also often triggered subconsciously by smell.”
— Siddhartha Kunti, [08:28]
Scent in Retail and Consumer Experience
[12:04 - 13:57]
- Smell’s commercial application: Major brands like Nike and Abercrombie & Fitch use scent to increase sales and create memorable in-store experiences.
- Studies: Stores with scent cues (e.g., freshly cut grass) saw sales boost by roughly 20%.
- Scent enhances memory retention and customer experience, increasingly being integrated in wellness, art, and gaming industries.
Notable Quote
“Nike did tests where they had stores with like freshly cut grass and stores that didn’t have it...the stores that had the fresh scent sold about 20% more.”
— Siddhartha Kunti, [12:44]
Industry Size and Untapped Potential
[13:57 - 15:39]
- The scent industry is in its nascency, with significant opportunity for growth.
- Large corporations (e.g., Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF) are investing heavily, but integrating scent into broader tech and consumer applications is just beginning.
Personal, Emotional, and Therapeutic Power of Scent
Memories Constructed by Smell
[15:39 - 18:18]
- The host and Siddhartha discuss how scent powerfully evokes personal childhood memories: books (host), wood and workshops (Siddhartha).
- Siddhartha now creates products (e.g., perfume inspired by Italian wood scents) blending craft with technology.
- He reflects on how craftsmanship and artistry will become more valued as AI and automation increase.
Notable Quote
“Anything wood for me sort of brings me back to my grandfather’s workshop because...we spent so much time choosing different kinds of wood and chopping and sawing and putting things together.”
— Siddhartha Kunti, [16:31]
Scent, AI, and the Future of Mental Health
[18:18 - 21:34]
- Imagining a future where AI profiles could release scents to modulate mood (e.g., manage anxiety, recall lost loved ones).
- Siddhartha is collaborating with UK’s NHS to explore scent’s therapeutic role in hospitals; e.g., custom soaps carrying the scent of lost loved ones to offer comfort.
- Being an early pioneer, Siddhartha addresses the skepticism and eventual admiration inherent to entrepreneurship.
Notable Quote
“The day before something comes mainstream, it’s always a crazy idea.”
— Siddhartha Kunti (quoting Peter Diamandis), [20:51]
Memorable Moments & Quotes
- Host's realization:
“Before this conversation I wouldn’t even think this is possible. But in 25 minutes, like, my mind is blown.”
— Host, [21:55]
- On entrepreneurship:
“That’s the beauty of entrepreneurship, right?...Everything could collapse tomorrow or everything could skyrocket to the moon...That’s the excitement–scary and exciting.”
— Host, [21:34]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:35 – Introduction & Scented Technology Anecdote
- 01:35 – Siddhartha’s Journey into Scent and AI
- 03:00 – The Forgotten Sense and Cultural Aspects of Smell
- 05:31 – Why Digitizing Scent is Uniquely Challenging
- 08:06 – Using AI & Scent Large Language Models
- 10:55 – The Cost of Losing Smell & Health Connections
- 12:04 – Scent in Retail and Consumption
- 13:57 – Industry Growth and Entrepreneurial Frontiers
- 15:39 – Personal Memories and Motivations
- 18:18 – Scent’s Role in Mental Health & Grief, Entrepreneurship Mindset
- 21:34 – The Risk-Reward Thrill of Innovating in Untapped Spaces
- 22:41 – Where to Follow Siddhartha Kunti’s Work
How to Connect and Follow
- LinkedIn: Best way to reach Siddhartha is on LinkedIn (Siddhartha Kunti).
- Instagram: New account, posting visual works at @SiddharthaKunti.
Conclusion
This episode offers a captivating look at how scent, the “forgotten sense,” is finally being decoded and digitized with the help of AI—enabling everything from retail innovation to therapeutic breakthroughs. Siddhartha Kunti’s passion for scent science, rooted in personal history and advanced by modern technology, demonstrates the untapped potential and emotional power of olfaction. As technology and art converge, the sense with the strongest tie to human memory and emotion may also prove to be a key to unlocking new forms of well-being, creativity, and business innovation.