Soon after the dawn of the new millennium, Andrew Cardno moved from his native New Zealand to Las Vegas, Nevada, where, armed with a fiery enterprising spirit fueled by ambition and his invention of the mapping algorithm, he sought to revolutionize the casino gaming industry.
In 2008, Cardno founded VizExplorer which quickly earned a reputation as one of the world’s most renowned analytics software providers specializing in intelligent visualization and data science solutions for casinos.
Upon leaving VizExplorer, Cardno and Dr. Ralph Thomas founded Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI) in 2020. In just five years, the company’s advanced software is deployed in over 250 casino resorts across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Latin America.
Fast forward to July 2025 with the announcement that QCI had completed a strategic acquisition of VizExplorer, returning the company to its founders and paving the way for a new era of sustained global expansion and unprecedented growth.
“I devoted 11 years of my life to VizExplorer,” Cardno said. “For more than a decade I think back to the intellectual property we developed and all the projects we worked on, in and out of gaming. VizExplorer grew to establish a huge market presence and customer base.
“Being the ‘face’ behind VizExplorer until 2019, customers recognized that our acquisition of the company was a very natural technology fit, leading the way to the next generation of QCI’s innovative Artificial Intelligence platform and VizExplorer’s analytics intellectual property.”
Cardno revealed that an estimated two-thirds of VizExplorer have been converted to QCI product with the remaining third already in motion. He is pleased with the response of customers to the natural fit of the acquisition, saying “the ideas I worked on a decade ago were well ahead of the market and I am really excited about being able to practice that art form again”.
“I know exactly how to navigate the future because I am an inventor,” Cardno added. “There is an incredible advantage when you are the inventor of a product, the founder of the company.”
QCI has, over the past year, significantly extended its reach and capabilities. The company collectively manages more than $40 billion in annual gross gaming revenue. Operating in 17 countries, 30 U.S. states, and partnerships with 90 sovereign tribal nations, QCI is the undisputed global leader in casino and resort intelligence.
Cardno said that with VizExplorer’s 38 granted intellectual property patents, “it is an incredible advantage to pick up those patents and practice them because I know what they actually are and am able to recognize them as extraordinary catalysts to drive brand recognition and growth”.
“When I look back over the year it took us to complete the acquisition, I can say I am very happy it was completed,” he said. “There was a fantastic team at VizExplorer which did a great job of adapting their technology to the delight of their customers. When they joined the QCI team, they brought with them the expertise of how to be successful with customers.”
QCI has been enabled through the integration of VizExplorer to accelerate investment in product development and a deeper and wider range of solutions in comprehensive operational intelligence, next-generation data visualization an AI, and a broader portfolio of integrated tools.
Cardno explained that the super graphics that VizExplorer was working on 12 years ago were far ahead of their time. He said that they were able to show data in a way where the density of information was an order of magnitude, or 10-times more information, into a representation.
“Now, think about generative engines,” he asked. “They start doing things for you automatically. It is necessary to monitor them, to understand what is done at both the overview and the detailed level. It is an incredible opportunity for the combination of highly patented super graphics and the generative engines of today.”
Cardno began writing about “The Math That Gaming Made” at VizExplorer. It has reached an incredible 700 hundred pages, encompassing all his work at VizExplorer. The work itself, he explained, can now drive a generative engine to automate it.
“As we (including Dr. Thomas) were writing, not for a single second did I ever think it would be useful beyond the written page on the math,” he admitted. “I never thought we would be able to use the information as the core programming of an artificial intelligence.”
Cardno introduced a product called Chatalytics, an AI tool that manages cognitive load through generative intelligence. He said that he is extremely excited about its use in the gaming industry.
Energized by its enhanced capabilities, QCI is pursuing opportunities in at least ten new markets globally. Additionally, its new diverse product suite allows QCI to serve integrated resorts much more efficiently and effectively than siloed competitors.
“When we were looking at our business and financial planning analysis teams, the month of August is when it all came together,” Cardno noted. Now, as we forecast moving forward, we can see the impact of the combined businesses.”
QCI is prepared and ready to show the way to the next era of casino analytics.
