10 Startups You Should not Miss at WebSummit 2018
Web Summit is about to come, and it promises to bring us some great times to remember. It is now one of the largest IT events in the industry that garners the attention of more than 60.000 attendees and is a nice fit for anyone involved in both business and development areas.
This year, it will introduce tons of big names including Apple, IBM, Microsoft, Twitch, and Slack representatives, plus such celebrities as Tony Blair and Ronaldinho who will keep you active through the entire event.
But most importantly, WebSummit will host a startup competition to decide whose idea deserves to be praised and recognized by the large audience. On top of this PITCH clash, you will get to see the ALPHA programme for the smaller startups and, of course, the featured venue that will introduce the biggest startup rivals at the IT field.
Here at X1 Group, we value the startups that stand out in their practical use and show enough capacity to become a long-lasting venture. So, I decided to highlight those that impressed us the most and got the potential to replace the moguls whose speakers will dictate the agenda at the event.
3DLOOK
Surely, not a stranger for those who have been following the startup scene recently, 3DLOOK brings something that will surely be appreciated: being able to assess the exact dress size by just pointing the smartphone camera at the clothes and some AI magic. It’s a great visual tool since many companies tend to have their own measurements: what is a size 2 apparel for one brand, could be size 7 for another, and 3DLOOK solves this issue by having a standardized scale to assume the size.
Moreover, people aren’t always precise in measuring their own body — sometimes it’s just vague and inconsistent. But 3DLOOK has 29 parameters to back you up thanks to SAIA technology that will analyze the uploaded images, match clothing and give its recommendations.
Online shopping is no joke: Black Friday is on its way and 20 to 50% of the clothing purchases get returned so the AI evaluation is what can make this process a smooth experience for both parties’ pleasure.
Bouquet.ai
Aristotle was a wise guy and could give a precious advice when needed. Don’t believe me? Then check Bouquet out, they have this lad as a community manager for your data, a virtual analyst who will take care of any question you ask. It can respond via simple messages or with ready-to-use spreadsheets with all the consumed data being analyzed.
It’s an on-demand scaling product that is connected to more than 100 services such as SalesForce, Zendesk, SAP, ServiceNow, and to all the other major databases. It is now available on Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Siri which makes it even a more accessible tool to try its convenience. Continuous AI leaning will only make it better over time so I am not afraid for its future.
Fuelsave
Fuel isn’t cheap, so here’s another example of an effective data usage, this time it helps you optimize the driving routes. Backed by 65M km of data collected, it keeps learning and tells which highway is the best option by analyzing vehicle dynamics, people, cargo, and of course quality of the roads.
Fuelsave claims to save around 750 liters per month for each truck using their services and on top of saving plenty of cash, it is also a nice investment in nature. Apparently, AI is a good friend of the environment: with 146B liters of diesel consumed by trucks each year in Europe, CO2 is quite an issue and reducing it by 20% can make a large difference when being connected to Fuelsave services. Real-time access with minimum latency is also what makes it so good when using at the heat of the driving moment.
Arianee
Ambition is probably the best word to describe this startup. The whole blockchain thing isn’t revolutionary but the scale they want to implement it is really mind-boggling: it is aimed to become a link between owners, assets, and brands. Arianee provides a digital certificate which represents a unique asset that is unfalsifiable by using blockchain technology. This protocol, called Smart-Link will be compatible with all the kinds of assets and will stay perpetual through the whole brand’s lifecycle, giving the owners full access over their products.
The whole service consists of 4 parts: previously mentioned Smart-Link, Smart Asset for each registered product inside Arianee system, Brand Data Hub for authentication and connection with EPRs and CRMs, and the Vault — a secure and failproof online repository where the registering occurs.
Hushme
Another intriguing concept is designed to mask the voice. It has some weird looks but seems very effective at protecting the speech privacy and reducing the outer noises when speaking via phone. It completely suppresses your voice when you’re out in the public so no one gets to hear which secret plans you share with the interlocutor. It’s also a great tool for pranks as you can use the pre-installed modifications and become someone like Darth Vader, why not?
You can also use the background sound but the best feature is having a noise-free conversation. This is really great for busy people who often talk outdoors near the city traffic and the other person has a hard time hearing the conversation itself. Well, not anymore!
Billomat
They claim to love the accounting and I believe them. Billomat has crafted a web-based tool for invoicing that could be described in a single word: convenience. Unlike many similar products on the market, it has inherited features that anyone would like to see: granting access to tax advisors, countless add-ons, Dropbox/Google/OneDrive or CRM/tracking system integration, intelligent text recognition from all the files’ formats, inbuilt banking, and online payments.
It is also capable of financial prediction and reporting, as well as setting up automatic events such as dunning. Mobile version access is now a must but their version also deserves praise for how convenient it is for the accounting activities.
Botfuel
Another fuel on the list, this time it’s also about saving the resources. Botfuel helps the companies create the chat bots based on their needs: a full access over SDK can make you develop your own units via several simple code lines. You will also get to run bots’ automated tests, collect customer data, and improve upon bots’ performance by convenient NLP and Trainer features — this will allow to analyze and adjust their behavior based on results and fill with the new content. Botmeter feature will be a nice addition for you to track your audience’s preferences.
This product stands out by letting you become a mini-developer for your customer support instead of relying on the human force that is powered by the bot phrase suggestions at max.
Averon
Their concept amazed us with its simplicity: they don’t require you to download or install any app — having a smartphone is what you need to authenticate all the actions. Whether it’s a bank account, car or your house front door, the cell phone will receive a confirmation request for it to open. Averon conflates E-commerce, Fintech, Blockchain, Smart Vehicles, Smart Locks/IoT, and Online Accounts. This type of granted access may look scary to rely on a single gadget… but is very intriguing at the same time.
Many of us have viewed the future with this much control simplicity, so maybe network signal is a more secure thing to trust than the locks on your car on an e-mail password. Anyway, that is a hard startup to ignore and I am thrilled to see what they got to show.
Exo
Wealth management… wait a minute, that’s something new! Yes and no, since Exo gives you enough control over the finances on top of having all the necessary AI services. Powered by fine-tuned algorithms, Exo helps in creating unique and intelligent portfolios right after you pick the area that you are interested in. Like in other similar tools, the AI only needs you to sit down and relax but the customization is what makes it special — you will get to adjust areas, regions and improve your portfolio based on potential dividends, value, and risk level for no extra costs.
Exo also promises new transparency level with an all-in fee of 0.5–0.75%. This basically removes the trading fees, transaction fees, and all sorts of hidden commissions. Huge kudos for doing that!
Hivemind
This proven IoT venture will present their way of handling the system. Thanks to an open API, their customers get an access to forming their own IoT networks that are independent for managing but are connected to the whole system at the same time. In essence, Hivemind allows you to connect external IoT devices and integrate your own IT system (Salesforce, SAP, Microsoft Azure) to boost its convenience. With a vast middleware toolkit, they enable smaller companies to join the IoT world as it would be impossible without a large Hivemind ecosystem of NB-IoT, 5G, LTE/4G, 3G/2G, LoRaWAN (LPWAN), SigFox connection all over the world.
Although you can hardly view them as a startup but more as an established provider, I am glad to see this company to introduce their new solutions at WebSummit as they’re one of those who push the industry forward.
Is there anything I missed? Share your list of most interesting startups.
P.S. I will also be heading to Lisbon for the WebSummit next week, so see you there. You can ping me on vbykanov@x1group.com to arrange a meeting.
