Stage 1 — SUSAN 1.0: The Beginning

Saleem Qureshi and Aisha Saleem (husband & wife team) developed SUSAN at Lincoln School Oy as a classroom research project.
They designed SUSAN as a simple text-based AI assistant that could chat with users and answer basic questions.
It ran on an early language model that generated human-like replies through a basic web chat — each question was handled independently.

Why it mattered:
The classroom project helped prove that an AI tool like SUSAN could support learning and communication, setting the stage for future innovation.

Stage 2 — SUSAN 2.0: Voice and Commercialization

After the classroom project ended, Saleem and Aisha took their classroom project to Talent Bridge Oy so that all technology and IP could be built and SUSAN would be prepared for commercialization.
They transformed SUSAN from a research tool into a voice-enabled assistant that could speak, listen, and understand multiple languages.
The city of Riihimäki served as the first real-world testing ground, where 71 immigrants used SUSAN to ask questions about Finnish life and integration.

Why it mattered:
SUSAN needed to grow outside a classroom, so it was moved from a school experiment to a commercial-ready AI that could interact naturally with people.

 

Stage 3 — SUSAN-GPT: Smarter Conversations

With the advisory support from Finnish AI Region (FAIR) and Haaga-Helia University, Saleem and Aisha upgraded the AI architecture of SUSAN and transformed it into SUSAN-GPT.
They connected it to advanced GPT models, giving it the ability to remember past chats, personalize answers, and search verified data through Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).

Why it mattered:
SUSAN began to think contextually — acting not just as an assistant, but as an informed advisor for learning, career, and integration.

 

Stage 4 — SUSAN ERP (Starting 2026): The Autonomous Assistant

In 2026, Aisha and Saleem will lead the next phase — SUSAN ERP.
They plan to turn SUSAN into an autonomous system that can manage its own tasks, calendars, and customer data through AI-driven tools.
SUSAN will learn continuously from user behavior and adapt her operations over time.

Why it matters:
SUSAN will evolve from responding to acting — becoming an AI colleague that can organize, plan, and run business operations independently.