5 more unique AI startups from YC 2023
“Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more.” - Nikola Tesla
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You can listen to this week’s podcast, “Decoding behavior - AI and the science of product design” with Nate Andorsky (Founder @ Patent355) here on Substack, on Spotify, or on Apple Podcasts.
Exploring the future of AI
Hey there everyone, it’s so good to be back after last week’s hiatus! During my week off I learned how to play High and Dry by Radiohead on guitar, binged the entirety of the show Beef (can confirm, it’s very much worth a watch) - and that’s about all that I did. But, the AI hype machine stops for no one, so back by popular demand, here’s 5 more unique and promising AI startups from YC 2023. If you missed my first list a couple weeks ago, make a quick pit stop by clicking here before diving into this list. For the rest of you, let’s get right to it...
1stCollab
What do they do?
1stCollab is pioneering the utilization of AI and ML in the influencer marketing space. The platform uses machine learning to predict a content creator's performance and consequently finds the best match for brands looking to optimize their influencer campaigns. Drawing on the team's experience working on Pinterest’s Discovery systems, 1stCollab focuses on aligning creators and brands for maximum engagement, claiming to help reduce Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) by over 70%.
Why is it interesting?
1stCollab is striking for its application of AI technology to influencer marketing, a rapidly evolving (and arguably underserved) field. Their approach takes some of the guesswork out of influencer campaigns, a pain point that anyone whose worked on either side of the influencer industry is likely familiar with given the complexity introduced by constantly fluctuating creator growth patterns and how difficult it is to accurately figure out how an influencer should be compensated. By using AI to predict creator performance, they can potentially offer a significant competitive advantage to brands. It's worth keeping an eye on 1stCollab as they seek to revolutionize the influencer marketing space by bridging the gap between AI and human creativity.
I'm keen to hear your thoughts on how AI can transform influencer marketing. Let me know down in the comments.
Booth AI
What do they do?
Booth AI aims to revolutionize the process of creating commercial product lifestyle photos. Their generative-AI platform allows brand managers, marketers, and merchandisers to generate high-quality lifestyle images in seconds, effectively replacing the need for complex, expensive, and time-consuming traditional photoshoots. The process is simple: users upload reference photos of their products, submit a text prompt describing their vision, and then Booth AI generates images based on these inputs.
Why is it interesting?
Booth AI is fascinating because of the way it integrates AI into a creative field like photography, traditionally thought to require a human touch. Their platform not only aims to save significant amounts of time and money but also democratize (wow, what an overused word, but here we are) the image production process. It puts the power of high-quality product photography in the hands of anyone, regardless of their technical photography skills. The idea of using AI to automate creative processes is a trend that's gaining momentum, and Booth AI is a clear demonstration of its potential.
This being said, if you’re like me you may be anxiously starting to wonder what creative fields will be left by the time AI gets done with them. Let me know what you think down in the comments.
Gloo
What do they do?
Gloo is an AI-powered search engine designed to produce domain-specific context for Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-3. The platform ingests your data, computes embeddings based on content type, and indexes them in fully managed vector databases. Gloo then uses this information to feed context into the LLM and synthesizes an answer to the user's query. For ensuring the trustworthiness of AI-generated responses, Gloo checks these responses against your knowledge-base - making it a potential answer to the black box problem I talked to Will Bakst about in our podcast (you can listen to that here to learn more).
Why is it interesting?
Gloo is tackling one of the most significant challenges in AI: providing contextual understanding for large language models. By building a search engine specifically tailored for this purpose, Gloo could enable a deeper understanding of user data, enhancing the accuracy and relevance of AI responses and making them contextual to a company’s knowledge base. The platform offers a managed solution for building a knowledge graph, which is a must-have for many AI applications. Furthermore, its emphasis on secure data handling and the integration of advanced features such as generating document summaries (powered by LLMs) sets it apart.
EzDubs
What do they do?
EzDubs provides one of the more unique AI solutions I’ve seen thus far that allows for real-time dubbing of videos and live streams into multiple languages while retaining the voice of the original speaker. From publishers looking to broaden their audience reach, to live streamers aiming to interact with international viewers, EzDubs offers an efficient way to transcend language barriers and promote global knowledge sharing. Is this the mythical “universal translator” sci-fi’s been obsessed with for so long?
Why is it interesting?
While many services offer translations, EzDubs stands out due to its real-time functionality and its capacity to retain the original speaker's voice. This not only makes the content more authentic and engaging, but it also allows content creators to maintain their unique voice and style across multiple languages.
Furthermore, EzDubs opens up the possibility for content creators to expand their reach and engage with international audiences instantly. By enabling foreign language speakers to interact and engage with live streams and webinars simultaneously with the rest of the world, EzDubs is democratizing access to information and opening up new opportunities for global engagement. From a business standpoint, EzDubs offers a significant competitive edge by enabling companies to unlock international markets. Its rapid, in-place translations could help businesses reach wider audiences, enhance user engagement, and ultimately drive growth. This holds considerable potential for sectors such as e-commerce, education, entertainment, and more, making EzDubs a truly intriguing prospect in the AI and language technology landscape.
Honestly, this one might be the YC startup that excites me most, if for no other reason than the universality of the “universal translator” concept in sci-fi and the fact that we’ve reached a place where technology like this is being realized. Does EzDubs scratch your nerd itch too or is it just me?
Dream3D
What do they do?
Dream3D is a Brooklyn-based generative AI startup hoping to shake up the world of 3D graphics design. By marrying intuitive user interfaces with artificial intelligence, Dream3D provides a platform where anyone, regardless of their skill level, can create hyper-realistic 3D computer graphics.
Why is it interesting?
Dream3D is intriguing for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it puts the power of advanced computer graphics design into the hands of the everyday user. The software utilizes AI to simplify the design process, making it less time-consuming and more accessible to non-professionals. This not only democratises the industry but also opens up new opportunities for creativity and design exploration.
However, what truly sets Dream3D apart is how it marries artificial intelligence with artistic control. It allows for a high level of customization and control over the output, enabling users to apply their unique artistic vision to the final product. This granular level of control reintroduces the element of artistic skill to AI-generated works, making the end product not just technically impressive, but also artistically valid.
This presents exciting implications for the future of art and design. With tools like Dream3D, we could see a new wave of digital artists creating stunning works that blur the line between human and AI-generated art. Furthermore, it could also change how industries such as gaming, film, and advertising produce their visuals, potentially leading to a new era of visually rich and innovative content.
Dream3D is an example of how AI can be used to enhance human creativity rather than replace it. By giving designers ultimate control over their compositions, the platform is enabling the creation of more diverse, personalized, and impactful visual content. If you're excited about the intersection of AI and art, keep an eye on Dream3D as it reshapes the landscape of 3D design.
Chronicles of the circuit circus
The AI revolution in health care is already here - by Lena S. Wen for The Washington Post. The big pull quote:
“Predictive AI can also augment diagnoses. For example, to detect colon cancer, standard practice is for gastroenterologists to perform a colonoscopy and manually identify and remove precancerous polyps. But some studies estimate that 1 in 4 cancerous lesions are missed during screening colonoscopies.
Predictive AI can dramatically improve detection. The software has been “trained” to identify polyps by looking at many pictures of them, and when it detects one during the colonoscopy, it alerts the physician to take a closer look. One randomized controlled trial at eight centers in the United States, Britain and Italy found that using such AI reduced the miss rate of potentially cancerous lesions by more than half, from 32.4 percent to 15.5 percent.”
How AI’s astonishing productivity gains could help curb inflation - by Hanna Ziady for CNN Business. The big pull quote:
““In the next few years, the main impact of AI on work will be to help people do their jobs more efficiently. That will be true whether they work in a factory or in an office,” Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates wrote in a blog post Tuesday.
Experts say the technology will help address a steep and prolonged slowdown in productivity growth in many Western economies, which has kept businesses’ costs higher than they would otherwise be and made inflation harder to tame.”
AI could wreak havoc on elections. Congress can get ahead of it. - by the Editorial Board for The Washington Post. The big pull quote:
“There’s plenty of reasons to worry about what the rise of AI will do to our democracy. Persuading foreign adversaries as well as domestic mischief-mongers not to sow discord is probably a lost cause. Platforms’ job of rooting out disinformation has become all the more important now that better lies can be told to so many people for so little money — and all the more difficult. Congress is working on a broad-based framework to regulate AI, but that will take months or even years. There’s no excuse for government not to take smaller steps forward on the path immediately in front of it.”
Signoff
Thanks so much for joining me for this week’s Future of Product, I hope you enjoyed it, and if not, don’t worry - next week won’t be top 5 YC companies part 3 (probably). Remember, you can comment right here on Substack, or shoot me an @ on LinkedIn if you have any feedback or want to get in touch!
In case you missed it, you can listen to this week’s podcast, “Decoding behavior - AI and the science of product design” with behavioral scientist and serial founder Nate Andorsky (Founder @ Patent355) here on Substack, on Spotify, or on Apple Podcasts.
Next week, I'll be chatting with Erica Jenkins - product leader and fractional CPO, with a wealth of knowledge on all things product.
Can’t wait to see you next week!