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The AI Opportunity No Founder Can Afford to Miss

The Billion-Dollar Gaps in Enterprises and Manufacturing You Can Fill Today

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AI Opportunities for Startups: Insights from Accel Atoms and Vishwesh Pai

In the ever-evolving landscape of AI, startup founders are constantly searching for areas where their innovations can make a significant impact. Accel Atoms recently shared some thought-provoking insights from their conversation with Vishwesh Pai, Senior Director of Product Management at ServiceNow, that we believe can inspire founders to explore promising new directions.

Below is a summary of two key AI opportunities that Vishwesh outlined for startups:

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๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—œ ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐˜€?

To understand this, we spoke with Vishwesh Pai (Senior Director of Product Management, AI Platforms at ServiceNow) on SeedToScale.

He explains two interesting problems that startups can solve using AI:

๐Ÿญ. ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜€:

Vishwesh mentions how ServiceNow has more than a billion dollars of cloud & infrastructure costs!

Do they want to do it efficiently?
Yes.

Do they want to do it by themselves?
No.

This is a fantastic opportunity for startups to build internal tools and software that enterprises like ServiceNow can leverage.

He also mentions that they are always looking to acquire exciting products that can accelerate their product roadmap. One recent acquisition is a European-based company called Raytion.

๐Ÿฎ. ๐—ง๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜‚๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€:

Multiple manufacturing companies are struggling to modernize their data & gain meaningful insights from it.

Before AI, Vishwesh was in the IoT space and had a fascinating insight.

Even though it is a painful problem, each manufacturing business is unique. It was impossible for one company to connect the dots between protocols, data, and use cases.

The industry was also vast and varied!

But today, multiple startups can leverage AI to solve these nuanced problems for manufacturers in a domain or subdomain.

The opportunities for startups leveraging AI are immense!

Key Insights and Learnings for Founders:

  1. Enterprises Have Critical Gaps in Their Internal Operations
    Large enterprises like ServiceNow spend billions annually on cloud infrastructure and operations. However, managing these efficiently is not their core competency. This presents a prime opportunity for startups to develop AI-driven internal tools that can streamline enterprise operations and reduce costs. Startups that focus on automation, optimization, and scalability can position themselves as strategic partners or acquisition targets for these companies.

  2. Acquisitions Are a Clear Path to Scale
    Vishwesh's example of ServiceNowโ€™s recent acquisition of Raytion highlights the enterprise appetite for startups that solve specific challenges. Founders should focus on building solutions that are modular and easily integrated into larger platforms. By aligning with the needs of larger companies, startups can accelerate their own growth through acquisition or strategic partnerships.

  3. AI for Manufacturing: Solving Unique, Painful Problems
    The manufacturing industry is ripe for AI innovation. Many companies are struggling to derive actionable insights from their data, especially given the industry's complexity and the uniqueness of each business. While the manufacturing sector has been slow to adopt new technologies, this creates a significant opportunity for startups to build tailored AI solutions that address specific pain points within various manufacturing subdomains.

  4. Domain-Specific AI Solutions Are Key
    Manufacturing isn't a one-size-fits-all sector, and AI solutions need to be adapted to the specific protocols, data types, and challenges of each business. Startups that can navigate this complexity and offer targeted, domain-specific AI solutions will find an eager market in manufacturing.

  5. The AI Opportunity Is Expansive
    AIโ€™s potential isn't limited to just a few industries. Startups that look beyond traditional use cases and explore AI applications across industries, from enterprises to manufacturing, will uncover numerous opportunities. Whether it's helping businesses cut operational costs or unlocking the value of untapped data, the possibilities are vast.

For founders exploring how to leverage AI, Vishweshโ€™s insights are a reminder to look where the problems are the most complexโ€”and the solutions most impactful. Startups that can provide innovative, efficient tools for enterprises and manufacturers will not only add value but could also become essential players in shaping the future of business operations.

At Pitch Club, we believe the AI landscape is just beginning to unfold, and itโ€™s an exciting time for founders to get involved. Let these insights guide your next steps as you build for tomorrow's industries.

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