Byte-Sized AI is a bi-weekly column covering all things artificial intelligence, from startup funding to newly signed partnerships to just-announced AI-powered features from major retailers, software providers, and supply chain players.
Vayu Robotics signs contract with e-commerce company for 2,500 robots
San Francisco-based startup Vayu Robotics announced Tuesday it has released a curbside delivery robot powered by an AI-based model. In a statement, the company said a “major e-commerce company” had approached the company to deploy 2,500 robots to expedite delivery of orders. Vayu did not disclose who its partner is.
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The company says its robots don’t have light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors, which help the robots determine the distance to other objects, like cars on the road or pallets in a warehouse, helping to reduce collisions.
Instead, the company equipped the robot with low-cost passive sensors that can send signals to the robot from a base model. This allows the robot to navigate streets, store floors and residential areas without having to map out a route beforehand, the company says. The robot can carry loads of up to 100 pounds and travel at speeds of just under 20 miles per hour.
The company’s CEO and co-founder, Anand Gopalan, said that the company’s AI-powered technology could potentially be used for other kinds of robots in the future.
“Our software is robot form factor agnostic and we have already deployed it on several wheeled form factors. In the near future, Vayu’s software technology will enable quadrupedal and bipedal robot movement, enabling us to penetrate those markets as well,” he said in a statement.
Attentive powers Ugg’s email marketing, trending topics
Attentive, a marketing platform that wants to help brands and retailers better deliver customer messages via email and text, announced on July 16 that after testing with select customers, it has made its AI Pro system generally available.
The new tools aim to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time. AI Pro has four main tools: Audiences AI, Identity AI, Send Time AI, and Brand Voice.
Audiences AI allows companies to segment and target customers more easily, helping to provide insights about high-value subscribers. Identity AI helps recognize customers beyond the lifespan of a browser cookie, opening up more room for personalization of site experiences and messaging, while Send Time AI, as its name suggests, helps brands deliver messages to consumers at the right time based on past performance. Perhaps the most unique of the four tools, Brand Voice helps marketers write copy in the voice of their brand, based on a model trained on previous communications.
The company says that businesses that have tested the new tool have seen an average 124 percent increase in revenue. Customers that have tested the technology include Hot Topic, Crate & Barrel and Ugg.
Attentive CEO Amit Jhawar said AI Pro should impact brands’ holiday performance.
“At Attentive, our top priority is to help brands deliver customized customer experiences that help drive revenue and loyalty,” Jawar told Sourcing Journal. “We’ve built proprietary AI capabilities that increase average revenue by 124%. … This holiday season, brands that embrace personalization will perform better and those that rely solely on generic messaging will fall behind. With Attentive AI, we’re committed to helping marketers make every message count.”
Windward AI partners with AWS
Windward AI, a platform that uses predictive analytics to help stakeholders in the maritime ecosystem gain real-time insights into supply chains and cargo transportation operations, announced a partnership with AWS earlier this month.
The two companies will work together to develop a generative AI-powered solution to improve risk management for workers in the transportation and logistics industry, which will be powered by Amazon Bedrock, according to the announcement.
The new solution aims to help companies overcome what Windward calls a “lack of human expertise to address complex risk management requirements” in the logistics industry. The system has features aimed at managing unstructured data. Until now, customers were not able to use their own unstructured data, instead relying on Maritime’s aggregated data and expertise.
Windward co-founder and CEO Ami Daniel said the upgrade and new partnerships unlock great possibilities for customers across the shipping industry.
“We’re excited to work with AWS to combine our deep maritime expertise with AWS’ generative AI capabilities,” said Ami Daniel, co-founder and CEO of Windward. “The marriage of vertical AI, generative AI, and working with AWS allows us to solve bigger problems than ever before. The shipping and logistics industry has traditionally been under-digitized, so by partnering with us and combining their data with our technology, key customers can significantly reduce risk and improve revenue.”
Female-Founded Startup Secures Seed Round
Hey Savi, a woman-founded startup that uses AI for search and personalization, announced on July 15 that it had raised £2.2 million ($2.83 million) in a seed round.
The company’s funding comes on the heels of other startups such as Daydream securing huge funding for similar features. Personalization continues to be a hot topic among brands and retailers pursuing new AI strategies. Hey Savi was founded in the UK by three female entrepreneurs. According to the company’s announcement, UK consumers perform more than 10,000 fashion-related searches per minute. The founders want to change how online shopping search works, replacing an outdated system and bringing the consumer experience closer to their expectations.
Angela Vinci, co-founder and chief product and technology officer at Hey Savi, said modernizing search with an AI system has the potential to change the shopping experience overall.
“The challenge consumers face today is that search engines consistently prioritize paid advertising business models over delivering relevant results,” Vinci said in a statement. “Search experiences are outdated and not suited to today’s fast-changing fashion industry. We’re creating experiences that customers love and feel confident in their choices. Hey Savi’s unique platform was built by an industry-leading, all-female product team, and the timing is perfect to reinvigorate the way customers engage with retailers online and generate millions of dollars in new revenue.”
