An AI-powered programme that transforms any space into a professional TV studio. An app that can turn written prompts into slick, 15-second video ads for social media. Software that can identify exactly how many people enter your shop each day, as well as the percentage of them who bought a product.
Sandwiched between companies displaying drones, robots and smartphones at BEYOND Expo 2023 are several startups sharing software likely to transform the way we shop, create and live in the future.
“Basically, we’re helping business owners make important decisions faster,” says Yuichi Izumi, regional sales director (Japan and APAC) for Whale.
The software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup uses machine learning and AI to help clients like Nike, Shiseido and Unilever crunch data in real-time, easily create content and enable customers to buy products during live-streaming events.
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Their AI-backed software, for instance, allows users to take photos of a product, swap the background image and polish it all to make a perfectly presentable showpiece – instant marketing, in other words.
Using CCTV, Izumi adds, their software also allows businesses to get deeper insights about the customers who visit their brick-and-mortar stores, from their age range to their gender make-up.
Other startups like MRStage, meanwhile, are using AI to bring down costs for creating content. The virtual live-streaming firm allows anyone to create studio-quality entertainment from their bedroom, kitchen or anywhere they can fit a small green screen.
“It might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce a show in a studio,” says Maggie Li, CMO of MRStage. “Our technology brings it down to a fraction of that. Anyone can use it.”
That’s great news for live-casters. But it also levels up virtual conferences and training programmes for businesses. Tools like real-time 3D graphics and instant cloud rendering make it happen fast, too.
Rapid growth potential
Then there are companies like BOOLV. The Shenzhen-based SaaS startup tackles e-commerce pain points.
Want to make a video ad for TikTok, Instagram or WeChat? The software allows anyone to input a few key words, and from that it will create virtual characters in any setting you can dream of and produce 15-second video ads with clickthrough buttons designed to drive social media sales.
“AI is growing so fast and changing the way we do things [almost daily]. The future is really exciting for us,” says Ken Wang, CEO and founder of BOOLV.
And then there are groups like Clobotics. The company combines computer vision, AI and machine learning, and data analytics software with hardware such as autonomous drones, mobile applications and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Once connected, the software helps to automate time-intensive and often dangerous operational processes. For instance, inspecting wind turbines.
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The software, however, also helps retail businesses to drive sales and marketing decision-making. That is what has attracted companies like Coca-Cola, Adidas and Procter & Gamble.
These startups are among 10 participating in Microsoft China’s accelerator programme. The software giant has identified each for their rapid growth potential and brought them to BEYOND to show off their powerful products to visitors. Some, including MRStage, even let visitors try it for themselves.
Even if this software may not be as sexy as a self-driving air taxi, it is likely to have just as profound an impact on the future. You just won’t see it flying above you in the sky.
—With reporting by Craig Sauers.
Macao News is an official Macao media partner of BEYOND Expo 2023.
