AI Startup Predictions for 2017

My AI Startup, SignalBox https://signalbox.ai/

1.Bots go bust - I've seen a few vertical applications of Bots with limited AI adding real value to customers. I'm not sure we will see a full collapse but I think the points are some what salient. Potentially, bot as a service firms will find their margins eaten away by firms that are focused in specific consumer oriented areas. Such as recruiting or highly regulated markets.

2. Deep Learning will be a commodity among machine learning researchers. I'm not entirely sure what this means. There is a clear increasing complexity in the research. The trend towards deep reinforcement learning, meta-learning, transfer learning and generative adversarial are indicative of this complexity increase. Even in areas such as object recognition, there is much left to discover, such as models like fastCNN or new flavors of ResNet. I think if anything, deep learning wont become a commodity. Which the author goes on to hint at with the poor use of deep learning APIs

3. Cleantech AI - I suppose the author here means that a general AI firm will never be as interesting as a firm that is vertically aligned (Tesla). I think actually we always believed this. However, I also believe there are places for research oriented firms that drive innovation for specific verticals. Such as a Parc Labs model. Though I don't disagree with this much.

4. MLaaS is dying. I agree fully. My first startup in this space pivoted into a fintech vertical simply because our clients had no idea how to implement DL into their businesses. And where we could suggest high value projects they almost never understand the cost/value. Consulting in DL actually kind of sucks.

5. Full stack AI verticals will win. I agree. But this should be obvious. But 100m in ARR in 2017 I find hard to believe. My own (new) firm is focused on autonomous vehicles and we are closing ARR contracts but 100m is way off. I wonder who he thinks will hit this level of revenue this year? I may want to pivot that way. :D