# Marin Šarić

> Marin Šarić is the Croatian co-founder and CEO of OptimoRoute. A former Google engineer who worked on Google Books and library scanning, he studied robotics at KTH in Stockholm, released the LibHand research library, and built OptimoRoute with Frane Šarić and Goran Kukolj to plan routes and schedules for delivery and field-service businesses.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at OptimoRoute
- **Organizations:** OptimoRoute, Google, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
- **Nationality:** Croatian
- **Education:** XV Gymnasium (MIOC), Zagreb, Cranbrook Schools, Illinois Institute of Technology, Master’s studies in Systems, Control and Robotics; subsequent doctoral research, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Helped create Google book search and led library-scanning engineering., Named co-inventor on US7508978B1, Detection of grooves in scanned images., Authored LibHand, an open-source library for rendering and studying hand articulation, released in 2011.

## Career timeline

- **2003** — Joined Google and worked on Google Books and library scanning; co-authored a paper on authorship discrimination.
- **2004** — Co-invented a Google patent application for detecting grooves in scanned images.
- **2008–2011** — Studied at KTH and conducted robotics research in Stockholm.
- **2009** — US patent 7508978B1 was granted on March 24.
- **2011** — Released LibHand and co-authored Dimensionality Reduction via Euclidean Distance Embeddings.
- **2012** — OptimoRoute idea originated; distinct from later incorporation and full-time operation.
- **2015** — All three OptimoRoute co-founders were working full-time.
- **2016** — OptimoRoute raised seed financing in July.
- **2017** — OptimoRoute was reported to serve customers in 15 countries.
- **2019–2020** — Prelude Ventures dates its investment to 2019; a $6.5 million round was reported in February 2020.
- **2022** — OptimoRoute reported more than 2,500 paying customers and an approximately 40-person team.

## Achievements

- Helped create Google book search and led library-scanning engineering.
- Named co-inventor on US7508978B1, Detection of grooves in scanned images.
- Authored LibHand, an open-source library for rendering and studying hand articulation, released in 2011.
- Co-authored research on authorship attribution and dimensionality reduction.
- Co-founded OptimoRoute with Frane Šarić and Goran Kukolj.

## Latest updates

- **2022-10** — A Netokracija interview covered Beth Kirsch joining OptimoRoute as VP of marketing and identified Šarić as CEO.
- **2022-04** — Šarić and his brother discussed more than 2,500 paying customers, a roughly 40-person company and an expanded management team.
- **2021-08** — Poduzetnički mindset published its filmed interview with Šarić about OptimoRoute and his return to Croatia.

## Links

- Website: https://optimoroute.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/m4rin/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/marin-saric
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23