Within a short span of the last couple of years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come to the fore, changing the world at a breakneck speed. No wonder, AI is dominating headlines and has been at the core of many discussions in CXO suites across Asia.
The convergence of big data, cloud computing and machine learning have all contributed to the emergence of AI. More than ever before, when it comes to leadership in AI development and deployment, Asia is uniquely positioned to lead, given the abundance of talent, skill-sets, capabilities and strong ecosystems for growth, that it possesses.
While the market for artificial intelligence is still nascent, and the pathways ahead remain uncertain and complex, Asia has focused on building-up the necessary capabilities to foster the growth of AI. Whether it be proactive government policies and investments, equally supported by deep private sector engagement, the outlook for AI in Asia is positive. Asian Governments are investing significant capital in fostering technology growth, and developing frameworks to support research in AI. When it comes to the industry, they are taking bold initiatives to invest in, and acquire path-breaking startups. The startups and the brave entrepreneurs are riding the wave, looking at grand challenges, and leveraging AI to solve those challenges, and shape a better future for Asia.
If research and development in AI were properly fostered, it could result in significant benefits and positive outcomes for Asia. Whether it be financial inclusion through innovations in machine learning, or new paradigms of healthcare by leveraging AI-based solutions, or in making experiential learning possible through customized education for children using machine learning algorithms, the opportunities are immense.
Here are a few examples of startups that are leveraging AI in different business contexts and industry segments:
In Vietnam, a crop intelligence start-up has encouraged rice growers to snap a photo of sick crops and upload it online. These photos are used to teach computers how to identify crop diseases.
An Indian startup has developed an AI-powered solution to offer a fast and accurate diagnosis of an ECG.
An Indian startup has developed AI-based hardware and software solutions to digitize pathological tests for hospitals and clinics.
A Chinese AI Startup has claimed to build the world’s most advanced AI English-teaching system, made available through a smartphone app, serving >70Mn users in China and 175 countries around the world.
A Singapore-based startup has developed a platform that uses artificial intelligence to help monitor Asia’s growing population of elderly while reducing the risk of falls or other unnecessary injuries.
A Chinese startup is focused on developing an AI Chip that stimulates the activities of a human nerve cell.
A Israeli startup is developing the next generation of AI technology, essentially, Autonomous AI, that enables machines to think.
These are some of the startups profiled in Hammerkopf’s AI50. The AI50 Report profiles fifty of the most promising startups from Asia that are working on building the next generation of innovations in artificial intelligence and deploying it a wide array of industry segments and use cases. The AI50 is a definitive listing of the most promising startups from Asia, cutting across industry verticals and geographies, including startups from China, India, Singapore, Japan and Israel, among others.
In Conclusion
Going forward, Asia needs to ramp-up and define AI use cases, better data ecosystems, and more concerted talent-development efforts.