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Generative AI (Gen AI) is the buzzword of the year sweeping the global technology ecosystem. Venture capital giant Sequoia has declared that artificial intelligence could “create trillions of dollars of economic value,” and thousands of companies, from Microsoft to Fiat, have increased their productivity and delivered more to their customers. They have competed to integrate this technology as a way to deliver value.
As with Web3, nascent sectors like generative AI come with a lot of predictions about how big it can or will be. The global AI market is currently worth $136.6 billion and is expected to grow by 40% over the next eight years, according to some estimates. Despite the overall slowdown in VC deals, Gen AI has been an exception, with AI-backed startups accounting for more than half of VC investment last year.
But generative AI tools are garnering headlines and thrifty VC money, and while some early movers are developing nifty AI tools that address critical pain points, how many of them are long-term? Most profitable companies started as stumbled businesses rather than as part of a long-term strategy, so what if you need to scale to meet demand? Is not it?
Gen AI startups still have a lot of work to do to turn this fascinating technology into a real sustainable business. This article explains where to start if you want to turn this short-term hype into long-term growth so that generative AI startups don’t miss out on a potentially huge market opportunity.
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Hype ≠ Success
There are many hurdles between Gen AI startups and long-term profitability.
First, it is difficult to take new technology and turn it into something that is actually profitable. Gen AI technology is certainly impressive, but it is unclear how it will be monetized and integrated into profitable business models. So far, some of the most successful AI startups are using the technology to increase operational efficiency, like Observe.ai, which automates repetitive processes that drive revenue and retention, Like copywriting assistant Jasper, we help with language processing and content creation. ah. However, the number of AI chatbots is limited. For the emerging generation of AI startups to succeed, they need to carve out their own niche.
AI companies will also find it difficult to remain competitive. Many AI startups are already struggling to differentiate themselves in an incredibly crowded market, with 10 more entrepreneurs aiming for every 1 entrepreneur with an innovative use case. Riding the waves without setting ground, presenting “solutions” without a clear idea. problem you are trying to solve. There are already 130 generations of AI startups in Europe alone, but it is unlikely that all of them will achieve long-term profitability.
Finally, AI is still an early-stage technology that must answer big questions about ethics, misinformation, and national security concerns. AI companies looking to streamline workflows need to address concerns about third-party software accessing sensitive internal data before widespread adoption, while startups leveraging the speed and efficiency of Gen AI should devise enough guardrails to deal with dystopian concerns. These “machines” could replace up to a quarter of our jobs.
Riding the Generative AI Wave: How to Turn Short-Term Hype into Long-Term Growth
To tackle the above hurdles, generative AI startups serious about building long-term businesses should adopt a few ground rules. While it’s true that the AI market is particularly bubbly with investor money at the moment, this is an outlier from broader VC sentiment. Given the recent market downturn, investors are looking more closely than ever to actual growth examples rather than growth projections, and whether recipients of their funds are built on a scalable business foundation. scrutinizing.
Here are some key considerations for Gen AI startups looking to turn hype into growth:
- Focus on customer needs: It’s very easy to get carried away with the potential of Gen AI technology, but when you apply that potential in a way that clearly solves a known and understood customer problem, the magic happens. Step 1 should always identify the problem and improve from there.
- Plan for the world: Most of the Gen AI startups we’ve seen so far are pursuing product-driven growth. They often have a low monthly fee and serve individual users. If these companies are serious about scaling, they need to be able to sell globally. More markets means more buyers, more revenue, and faster growth. With more money in the bank, we can extend the runway and better protect against individual shocks and market volatility.
- Build a monetization theory: The automation provided by Gen AI eliminates an enormous amount of manual work, but it can be difficult to get pricing right given the cost of the underlying infrastructure. It is important to determine the value metric, test it and adjust it to reach the correct price point. If customer needs are the heart of your business, the monetization theme is the way to keep that heart beating.
Ultimately, success boils down to two things:
- Effective Monetization:
Despite the hype, no technology sells itself, so it’s important to identify relevant Gen AI revenue streams and package them in the right way to drive profitability. Effective monetization ultimately relies on three main pillars: increasing revenue, reducing costs (especially important given the generative nature of these businesses), and reducing risk. Having a clear line of sight to these value levers is essential as they have a significant impact on the bottom line of the adopting company. If you have all three, the money will follow.
- Overcome potential barriers to growth and sustainable growth.
Much like AWS accelerated the speed and cost of building startups, ChatGPT enables complex automation with a human-like chat interface at the click of a button. Many AI startups are thin application layers built on deep existing infrastructure, so they can get to market very quickly through freemium or low-cost models.
This is ideal for a self-service approach where companies demonstrate the value of their products through use rather than sales-assisted pitching. That means companies riding the AI wave will grow much faster than usual. But that also means you’ll hit internationalization hurdles early and stumble on operational hurdles like localizing currencies and payment methods and dealing with fraud. A comprehensive payment infrastructure is key to a successful Gen AI business. This can enable rapid growth.
road ahead
Gen AI has the potential to create billions and even trillions of dollars of economic value, but how many of these predecessors have since launched high-profile businesses, and how many of them end up with the hype? Whether it will disappear remains a genuine question.
At Paddle, we’ve tracked nearly $30 billion in ARR and seen the growth curve of thousands of software businesses. And we have seen clear growth in the area of businesses built on GPT and AI DALL-E 2 for image generation.
When building on APIs like this, the road to product is fast, so the real battleground is distribution and monetization. We have seen these businesses go global by default, with a significant increase in those selling to thousands of people in multiple markets at low prices via self-service processes. Successful businesses are those that transfer as much value as possible to the first customer interaction.
Therefore, ambitious Gen AI startups that want to build a truly global business should focus on three things: Identify a distinct need or problem. Plan to expand into new markets to capture more revenue. Build your monetization theory, test and refine it, and determine the right price point.
Generative AI may be a bright new thing in tech, but the principles behind its success are the same as any other software innovation. Sticking to these core principles will pave the way for long-term success for Gen AI startups.
Christian Owens is Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Paddle, a payment infrastructure provider for SaaS businesses.
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