The different ways companies are applying artificial intelligence are spreading across industries, including companies in the San Fernando Valley. Startups are leveraging technology in novel ways in areas such as communications, manufacturing and healthcare, and their businesses are growing rapidly.
For example, Woodland Hills-based Rex Inc. is establishing a new partnership with a university for its AI-enabled word processing platform, and Burbank-based mPulse Mobile Inc. is leveraging acquisitions to connect healthcare providers with Powering our patient engagement platform for Sherman Oaks. Based on nFlux AI, it leverages computer vision to support factory operations and manufacturing.
All of these companies are positioning their technologies as leaders in their fields and finding new ways to support human innovation. Some company leaders, such as Glendale-based Exper Technologies Inc. and nFlux AI, say their company's mission is to complement, rather than replace, the capabilities of human workers to increase efficiency. ing.
Expper says its AI can fill gaps in the healthcare system to support healthcare providers and improve patient care. The product is an AI-enabled emotional support robot called “Robin the Robot” that works in pediatric wards and elderly care facilities. Robins can be programmed to have the emotions and communication style of a young child, interacting with humans, helping explain procedures and diagnoses, playing games and telling stories, and acting as supportive companions. Designed to act.
Expper CEO and co-founder Karen Kachikyan points to Robin's cost-effectiveness. The product is available on a subscription basis and is much cheaper than hiring additional staff to provide emotional support to patients, Kachikyan said.
“The economic impact and positive impact of Robin is huge, as (facilities) see increased patient satisfaction and () reduced staff burnout,” Kachikyan said. “Residents often feel lonely and need special consideration. As their friend, Robin is there to look out for them, listen to them, and make them feel good in difficult times. It’s a living thing.”
He added that healthcare facilities often experience severe staff shortages and Robin will help fill potential gaps in patient care.
“If we can use technology to provide real care, I think that's the best thing that humanity can do,” Kachikyan said. “We live in a historic era of how AI has transformed technology. It would be great if AI could influence our level of caring and kindness. ”
Said Sajjadi, CEO and founder of nFlux, says his company's goal is also to “augment” human workers, rather than replace them. nFlux's technology provides employers with two computer vision-enabled products. The first, called his nFlux Guide, allows workers to be trained to assemble products. nFlux Guide then observes and analyzes the assembly process to identify any mistakes or errors that occur and suggests corrections to prevent defective or incorrectly manufactured products from leaving the floor. The company's platform is primarily used by manufacturers of medical devices, electronics, and automotive parts.
The company's second product, nFlux Acuity, is an analytical tool that provides engineers with insight into product and assembly line productivity. The data collected helps engineers consider ways to improve worker efficiency, address bottlenecks, identify common mistakes and errors, and see historical data on assembly progress. Helpful.
“We see a really good opportunity in manufacturing, where instead of replacing people, we can augment their capabilities and help operators on the factory floor do their jobs better.” Sajadi says.
Trust in some industries A.I. few
In some areas, companies working on AI have had to work to demonstrate to customers that the technology can be trusted. Sanjeev Sawai, chief product and technology officer at mPulse, says the company has had to move forward slowly with customer-facing AI. The platform develops AI-enabled digital engagement tools to help medical and health insurance providers improve patient outcomes and reduce patient costs. Users can receive reminders to schedule appointments, adhere to medication regimens, and learn about treatments.
Sawai said one of the challenges for mPulse is showing health care providers and experts that the results of outcome-related programs are accurately constructed and free of bias. He emphasized that probabilistic models often contain “skewed information” and that mPulse must work hard to demonstrate to customers that its products are trustworthy. The second challenge involves healthcare providers' “extreme vigilance” against using patient-facing technologies that may have unknown negative effects on health outcomes.
“I have to walk slowly,” Sawai says. “(Healthcare providers) are also very sensitive about consumer privacy and security. I think AI can be leveraged to suggest a lot of things, but healthcare is a fairly risk-averse and conservative industry. So it will take some time to show that AI is doing good things.”
Despite these challenges, mPulse has reached over 100 million consumers. The company reported 106% year-over-year revenue growth in the fourth quarter, which it attributed to its acquisitions of health analytics platform Decision Point and health management and engagement platform Health Trio.
However, hesitancy and mistrust toward AI are not the same across all industries. In the communications field, more universities are opening up to the use of AI, said Nathan Bashes, chief executive officer and founder of Lex. Lex's AI-powered word processing and copy editing platform is designed to work as a high-performance editor that helps users brainstorm ideas, get critiques, improve writing skills, and generate new text. I am. The company recently announced a partnership with Tennessee-based Austin Peay State University's communications department and Brandeis University, which uses Lex to edit university press releases. Brandeis uses Lex in his student writing seminars and is investigating the platform's impact on student writing.
“Most universities have taken the stance that[AI]is a tool that people use, and there are good and bad ways to use it,” Basches says. “It's important to teach students how to use it responsibly.”
What is a resource? necessary for training
AI can effectively create content, categorize information, and more, but machine learning algorithms must be trained using large amounts of data.
While open source data is available for text generation AI, other AI companies may face even greater challenges. Chatsworth-based Machinena Labs uses a combination of AI and robotics in machine production, allowing factory operations to quickly and easily scale as product designs and assembly techniques change. Now it looks like this.
When the company first tried to bring such technology into manufacturing, CEO Edward Maher faced the first hurdle: finding manufacturing data that could be used to train the AI. He said he did. Makina ended up building its own dataset. The company set up a system to capture the data and trained its own AI on the ever-growing dataset.
“It was a little more difficult than other SaaS companies because our data is not easily available,” Mehr says. “We had to figure out how to build mechanical and physical systems that generated data, and those systems had to be immediately useful[to customers]even without the data.”
Companies working on AI in the Valley have access to many resources, including the Glendale-based Hero House Accelerator, run by SmartGateVC and providing investment, mentorship, and networking opportunities for early-stage AI companies . The Burbank-based Disney Accelerator focuses on startups working in technology and media, and four of this year's five participants are focused on AI applications.
Over the past year, technology giants like Glendale-based home services software provider ServiceTitan and Burbank-based media technology company Blu Digital Group have stepped up efforts to better serve their customers and drive corporate growth. Introduced a notable venture into AI.
“I feel like we’re finally at this point in AI, and we’ve seen huge progress overnight,” Basches says. “We've been living in that world for a little over a year now, and it's starting to make its way into products, with new companies like Lex being founded, and then into the product offerings of existing companies. See That's interesting.''