The AI Startup Battle arrives in London — Apply now! (Pss: our jury fits in a box!)
Human v.s. AI has always been a major theme in science fiction. Our love for storytelling and fear of unchained technology still feeds the idea that one day we will loose control over the machines we built. In reality, machine-learning is a bit more boring and mankind is still far from being doomed. We all had dreams of human-like androids and sentient computers, but instead we have Roomba® vacuum cleaners and trust issues when using Google Translate.
Instead of preaching the singularity we therefore prefer to concentrate on a friendlier sub-domain of AI: Machine Learning for Startup Investing. Overall, the financial industry is one of the largest benefiting from AI. Machine Learning coupled with vast amount of information helped change the mantra from “more data is better” to “actionable insights are better”. Nonetheless, the venture capital asset class is still playing hard to get. In order to solve this issue firsthand, we decided to build a Machine-Learning-as-a-Service (MLaaS) platform that collects information from a vast set of sources and then generates automated real-time insights & scores about startups and their industries. Startup investors can now easily make data-driven investment decisions. More on our website.
A “VC-in-a-Box” & one-of-a-kind startup battle!
Better insights make better investors, but great investors are able to take decisions in a very short amount of time. Therefore, why not put our AI to the test where startup investors usually don’t have much time to assess potential investments: startup competitions! For this very reason, 3 years ago, we launched a series of international startup competitions where our AI is tasked to replace a whole “human” jury. #HumansNeedNotApply. We call our events the AI Startup Battles and they’ve already been featured in Spain, Brazil and the United States (check our blog). In our competitions, contenders interact live with our AI through a little voice-enabled device present on stage (hence the name “VC-in-a-Box”).
Our AI asks the participants a set of questions looking for fact-based insights as well as many other investment and traction related metrics. It imitates human investors in the types of questions it asks but the breadth of information it can access in real-time is unmatched. PreSeries’ predictive models are trained with a diverse set of public and private data on more than 370,000 companies worldwide and can derive actionable insights in matter of seconds.
We believe that our AI can do a great job at judging the potential of an early-stage startup looking at features around team composition, its industry, its technological edge and its funding history. There is nothing more entertaining than having an data-driven algorithm decide of your fate! Don’t you agree?
Note: If you are organizing startup competitions and are ready to bring it to the next level, get in touch with us and we’ll help you organize your very own AI Startup Battle using PreSeries. Let’s talk at battle(at)preseries(dot)com!
AI Startup Battle @ PAPIs Europe
If your heart is pure and you are not afraid to face our digital mastermind, I warmly invite you to apply to participate in the 8th edition of our AI Startup Battle in London (April 5th 2018). The competition is hosted by PAPIs Europe, an international conference on the latest innovations to create real-world Machine Learning applications. It features amazing demos and talks by renowned international experts in AI.
Up to the challenge? Then, fill in the application form available HERE before March 5, 2018! If your startup uses AI as a core enabler, this battle is your chance to get under the spotlight. The startups selected to compete will be able to pitch on stage, make connections, exhibit at PAPIs Europe, and get unique exposure among a highly distinguished audience.
Our co-organizers:
- PAPIs — PAPIs is the 1st series of international conferences dedicated to real-world Machine Learning applications, and the innovations, techniques and tools that power them. It combines the best of industry and academic conferences, with its expert committee of reviewers and its publications in PMLR. PAPIs is also committed to increasing diversity in ML by making it easier for certain groups to attend conferences.
- BigML — BigML is the leading Machine Learning company that pioneered the creation of Machine Learning as a Service (MLAAS). BigML offers a consumable, programmable and scalable Machine Learning platform that makes it easy to solve and automate Machine Learning tasks. BigML’s platform helps tens of thousands of analysts, software developers, and scientists from organizations of all sizes and industries to transform data into actionable models.
- AI Seed — AI Seed offers investment and support for the next generation of Artificial Intelligence founders. They invest early in prime movers to leverage proprietary power and harness data network effects across the value stack. They aim to identify exceptional technical teams using AI to re-imagine industries. They act as trusted partners and understand founders are the ones building their company, they are simply there to help them reach their full potential. Whilst they strive to use data to inform their investment process, ultimately they are founders backing founders and will always be aligned.
- Telefónica Open Future — Open Future is Telefónica’s global program of entrepreneurship and investment, aimed at attracting innovative products, services and talent to the Company, with the goal of integrating them into our value proposition for customers.It includes several initiatives of proven success, such as the Telefónica Ventures and Amérigo investment funds, the start-up accelerator Wayra and the Think Big and Talentum initiatives
Prize: £100,000 investment by AI Seed & access to Wayra (Telefónica’s incubator)
AI Seed is offering to reward the winner in the form of a £100,000 investment. The investment is subject to approval from AI Seed and must meet the following conditions: (1) Satisfactory completion of Company due diligence, (2) Satisfactory completion of Founder due diligence and anti-money laundering checks, (3) All employees having entered into employee contracts in a form acceptable to the Fund, (4) Receipt of a disclosure letter with respect to warranties (wherein a general disclosure of a data room is unacceptable) (5) Receipt of agreements assigning IP rights to the Company in a form provided by the Fund and executed by each employee, (6) Receipt of board minutes recording Company changes, (7) Completion of shareholder resolutions adopting Company changes, and (8) Payment of the Fund’s fees and expenses by the Company.
The winner of the battle will also have the chance to participate in Telefónica Open Future _ Program. In this respect, the winner may have access, up to six months, to Telefónica Open Future’s pre-acceleration services, subject to space availability (desk space and connectivity). After the six-months of pre-acceleration, the winner will be evaluated and, in case of a positive evaluation by Telefonica Open Future, the winner may have access to Wayra’s Acceleration Program. Wayra Acceleration Program offers financing for up to 50.000$ in the form of a convertible note and acceleration services, for a maximum period of 12 months, valued in a maximum of 70.000$, subject to the fulfillment of certain milestones agreed with Wayra (in the form of physical co-working space for the team, connectivity services, access to its network and know-how, consultancy services, entrepreneurship training, access to the Wayra network of potential investors, other entrepreneurs and practitioners from the venture capital industry).
May the data be with you!
