When two Boise State engineering students realized how much time was wasted digging through technical documents and datasheets, they didn’t just complain – they built a solution. Meet Chris Dagher (BS ‘23) and Oliver MacDonald (BS ‘24), co-founders of QTex AI, a startup aiming to transform how engineers build better products, faster.
In an industry where engineers often spend hours parsing through datasheets and inefficient tools, QTex offers a conversational AI platform to help reduce hours of work to just minutes. With their custom-built solution, what once took a team of five engineers multiple days can now be accomplished by one engineer in 30 minutes. This shift could represent a major shift in engineering efficiency.
Claiming their turf
For Dagher and MacDonald, Boise State’s physical and digital spaces – from classrooms to the student incubator in the College of Innovation and Design – propelled their vision. The spark of inspiration during a bike ride away from the hustle and bustle of campus evolved, the pair’s platform took shape, and a moment to redefine how engineers interact with data began.
“We realized QTex could be more than just a project when we did our first demo at a local engineering firm and the team loved what they saw,” MacDonald said. “We were even able to help them find one of the parts they were looking for. It’s one of our favorite success stories so far.”
To date, QTex AI has earned an impressive $18,000 from business pitch competitions, funding everything from product development to attending key industry events. The team is also building relationships with the Boise startup ecosystem, helping strengthen a tech scene they describe as “young but growing.”
QTex’s proprietary database, HiNDSIGhT, elevates AI search by offering fast, scalable and highly accurate document interpretation, capable of handling over 25 million documents. Their current system pulls from datasheets provided by three major component manufacturers and allows users to find and validate microchips through a powerful, intuitive search interface.
Thinking with purpose
During their time at Boise State, Dagher and MacDonald have blended their creativity, research and passion across disciplines. Their latest endeavor is the product of all three.
Despite only having minors in computer science and applied mathematics, the two are building a cutting-edge AI platform that rivals solutions created by more traditional tech firms. Their advantage? The pair’s roots in engineering and passion to learn more through their graduate studies in Boise State’s fastest growing doctoral program, the Computing Ph.D. program.
“Our backgrounds have been one of the biggest advantages we have had as we very well understand and have been impacted by the problem we are trying to solve,” Dagher said. “We are actively designing circuit boards for other projects, so we get to test our own product to help with our own work.”
Both students credit Boise State’s Venture College and the College of Business and Economics for their support in business development. While their project hasn’t required much engineering-specific assistance, they’re passionate about helping fellow students explore AI without needing advanced degrees in computer science.
“Boise State has helped us make countless amazing connections to industry,” MacDonald said. “The hub of innovation is helping us build a growing team to help us with new demand from customers.”
More than a startup
Dagher and MacDonald are already looking to the future. The pair is exploring licensing their core database technology to industries outside of engineering and considering the potential for acquisition within the next few years to allow them to focus on their doctoral studies.
Following the platform’s public launch later this year, QTex will operate on an annual subscription-based model. They’re currently offering free two-month trial licenses to prospective clients and preparing for several public events, including “Demystifying AI” at Trailhead in Boise and competing in the Boise Entrepreneur Challenge.
“We hope that QTex AI changes the way that engineers design new products and starts a great change in the engineering workflow space,” MacDonald said.
QTex AI is more than a startup – it’s a story of what’s possible when Boise State students are empowered to think boldly, act fearlessly and innovate with purpose. With every search streamlined and every part sourced more efficiently, QTex AI is innovating the future of engineering.