In my analysis, all of the listed technologies should be on the short list of organizations in the process of digital transformation, which is to say enterprises that are proactively on a concerted effort to become more technology-centric organizations that think and act like leaders in the digital space.
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Things are clearly progressing rapidly when it comes to machine intelligence. But how did we get here, after not one but multiple “A.I. winters”? What’s the breakthrough? And why is Silicon Valley buzzing about artificial intelligence again?
From types of machine intelligence to a tour of algorithms, a16z Deal and Research team head Frank Chen walks us through the basics (and beyond) of AI and deep learning in this slide presentation.
Artificial intelligence dealmaking has exploded recently, leaping to a new quarterly record of over 140 deals in Q1’16.
Corporates and their venture capital groups are among the most active investors in this category (tech corporates have also been active acquirers in the category).
Some takeaways from our infographic:
Construction tech, while still nascent, is a growing industry with funding growing 5x in 2015 alone.
Collaboration Software – This was the largest category in our market map and includes tools that offer task management, job-site scheduling, and document management software to the construction industry. The category includes Fieldlens which has raised over $12M to date from investors like Openview Venture Partners, Primary Venture Partners, and Softbank Capital, among others.
Marketplaces – This category helps match clients or homeowners with contractors, architects, and/or equipment. The section includesEquipmentShare, which has raised $7.7M from Romulus Capital and Y Combinator, among others.
Data and Analytics – This section includes companies like Rhumbix which has raised roughly $6M to date from Greylock Partners and Brick & Mortar Ventures, among others.
Building/Project Information – This category counts companies likeSmartBIM which provides building information solutions to players in the construction industry. SmartBIM raised roughly $1.3M in funding to date.
Frontier Tech Applications – Companies here use frontier tech — in which we include drones, AR/VR — and apply it to the construction industry. The category includes TraceAir which uses UAVs to analyze and track progress on construction sites. They raised a $250K seed round from 500 Accelerator.
Design Software – These startups offer design software to the construction industry. Flux Factory has raised more than $39M from DFJ, Obvious Ventures, Temasek and Surbana Jurong Private Limited, among others.
Financial/Project Management – This was one of the smaller categories in our map and includes Joist, a software tool for contractors that allows them to estimate, invoice, and manage projects. Joist raised an undisclosed seed round in 2015 from Accomplice and Matrix Partners.
FT:
The bulk of spending by brands on digital advertising is going to Google and Facebook. Combined, they accounted for 75 per cent of all new online ad spending in 2015, according to the Internet Trends report published this month by Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the US venture capital fund. In the US, 85 cents of every new dollar spent on digital went to the two companies in the first quarter of 2016.
This matters because digital is fast becoming advertising’s biggest source of revenue. It will eclipse television in the US next year , according to eMarketer, the research firm, with the lion’s share likely to go to the digital duopoly of Facebook and Google. Executives in Cannes put a brave face on what this might mean for their industry but the consequences of two companies becoming the gatekeepers for most digital advertising are profound.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uHavVE018M?rel=0]
Definition of AI: Study of computational mechanisms underlying thoughts and intelligent behavior.
“AI Winter” has been very productive.
I tell researchers on our team that if you can just build the thumb and forefinger into computational systems, you can build civilizations.
VB:
The adoption of wearables has skyrocketed, rising from 21 percent of the U.S. population in 2014 to 49 percent in 2016, according to a report by consulting firm PwC.
And parents are significantly more likely to own not just one, but multiple wearable devices, the report said. About 36 percent of respondents own more than one wearable.
PwC’s report, “The Wearable Life: Connected Living in a Wearable World,” is an update to a report the company created in 2014. PwC created the report to better understand the wearable tech landscape and identify trends and opportunities.
The report was based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers responding to an online survey. And it noted that “the 49 percent of respondents who say they own a wearable could be slightly inflated: our definition notwithstanding, many consumers think of their smartphones as wearables.” PwC conducted a similar survey in 2014.
