Kwadwo Adu

I started in IT in 2004, moved into digital design and growth, and over time began building products, teams, and companies. Today I'm Chief Product & Technology Officer at Spector M&A, a firm that advises founders and investors on software and agentic AI deals. PLYO Lab, my applied-AI studio, continues on the side.

Originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, now based in Barcelona, Spain, I've spent years across startups, scaleups, and corporate venture and innovation labs including SPACE10 (IKEA), Prehype, dkbn, and Trendsales, as well as co-founding and building bootstrapped or VC-funded startups like Bloggers Delight, Achoo, and Gray Matter.

I run an Applied AI community of around 2,000 people, host hackathons, and write Human in the Loop, a newsletter about AI inside real businesses.

I tinker with real estate projects here in Spain with my wife.

Now

Spector M&AChief Product & Technology Officer2026–

Nordic M&A advisory for software and agentic AI companies. I build the tools behind an AI-native advisory.

PLYO LabFounder · applied-AI studio, on the side2018–

Growth and AI building for companies. 10+ ventures and AI products for LEGO Ventures, COTY, Dimexon, Danske Spil, Norlys, Prehype.

Where I worked

Gray MatterFounder & CEO2023–25

Applied-AI studio. 13 products shipped, a 15-person team, ~€500K raised (Morph VC).

HerculeFounder2023–25

AI software for commercial due diligence. PE funds, M&A and VC firms used it to finish the work in days instead of weeks.

SPACE10Head of Digital · IKEA R&D2015–18

IKEA's research and design lab. Global digital innovation, AI / AR / MR.

AchooCOO & Co-Founder2014–15

Influencer-marketing SaaS.

Bloggers DelightCo-Founder2010–14

Nordic creator platform, 1M+ monthly users.

ByNightOperations Lead → Head of Operations2004–09

From Operations Lead to Head of Operations.

Side missions

runningLocaleFlow · AI translations for Shopify stores, always in sync
runningSignkit · email-signature SaaS, operated by AI agents
runningBookey · coworking & office SaaS, operated by AI agents

Community

writingHuman in the Loop · newsletter about AI inside real businesses
hostingApplied AI Meetup · Barcelona's AI-builder meetup, 15+ editions, ~2,000 people
hostingHKTN.dev · Professional hackathons, clients bring a real problem, builders ship

Open source

open sourcemodelfit · benchmark LLMs on your own codebase · ★5