Meet these rising AI/ML startups from Australia and New Zealand

Much of the attention on startups is usually concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere, with Silicon Valley at the forefront of the conversation. However, in the world down under, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, startups are making great strides in developing new innovations too.

One exciting area of growth lies in artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML). In 2019, Australia announced its roadmap for AI technology, with a particular focus on tackling issues related to healthcare, infrastructure, and the environment. Over in New Zealand, the government recently announced the launch of a regulatory framework that would govern public sector use of AI – a move that could help address some of the societal barriers surrounding the use of such emerging technology.

And in both countries, business investments in AI-powered solutions are still going strong, as the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the value of new technologies in adapting systems and processes for the future.

Here, we hear from three rising AI/ML startups in Australia and New Zealand about how their innovations have helped businesses work more effectively.

1. Movus

The Movus team / Photo credit: Movus

Founded in 2015 by Brad Parsons, John Gardner, and Michel Lamarre in Brisbane, Movus aims to be a “Fitbit for industrial machines” by utilizing the internet-of-things (IoT), AI, and ML to create a comprehensive remote monitoring system.

What is your core business or tech use case where you use an AI or ML-based solution?

There are billions of industrial machines around the world operating in remote and hazardous environments. These machines are maintained by engineers using manual inspection techniques that date back many decades.

Our Movus FitMachine is a low-cost, wireless platform that uses AI/ML to oversee the conditions of industrial assets and continuously monitor for changes that, if left unchecked, could lead to costly unplanned downtime. FitMachine is unique in that it doesn’t just collect data; it uses AI/ML to generate actionable insights so companies can work smarter.

What inspired you to start an AI/ML startup?

The world sees IoT as a sensor problem, but it’s actually a data problem: As more sensors create more data, we will increasingly need to apply AI/ML to make meaningful sense of the information. Customers already have access to plenty of data, but the real trick is to be able to make these data points contextual and meaningful. This is what we do.

We’ve processed 100 million machine health samples and saved millions in potential lost production, reduced tens of thousand of inspections that put people at risk, and kept machines running longer and harder, which extends the machines’ lifecycle. This is our inspiration.

How has being on the cloud and using Amazon Web Services (AWS) helped your startup scale fast?

The cloud and specifically AWS are the technology foundations that have enabled us to scale fast and compete on the world stage against much larger incumbents.

AWS’ infrastructure is world-leading and has allowed Movus to build a cost model that is 70% cheaper than pure virtual infrastructure. We service customers across the globe and have built an infrastructure with only two hours of downtime over the last four years.

2. Cover Genius

Angus MacDonald and Chris Bayley, founders of CoverGenius / Photo credit: CoverGenius

Headquartered in Sydney, Cover Genius is an insurtech platform founded in 2014 by Angus McDonald and Chris Bayley. The company works with insurers around the world to offer a wide variety of policies, covering travel, retail, and auto insurance, among others.

What is your core business or tech use case where you use an AI or ML-based solution?

We are a global insurance distribution platform with a tech-driven approach to insurance product development and commercial partnerships.

Unlike more traditional insurers, Cover Genius’ focus is firmly on customer needs. Our insurance distribution platform, XCover, was born out of a deep consumer need to receive personalized and dynamic insurance coverage from their favorite online stores. This aligned with a rising trend within the online retail space where personalization is also key in winning customer loyalty and guaranteeing satisfaction.

Meanwhile, accelerated developments in the field of AI/ML, together with Cover Genius’ wealth of knowledge in the insurance business, birthed BrightWrite. The framework provides analytics via the application of patented data science technology in order to optimize price, product, and promotions. BrightWrite collects digital datasets from partner customers and joins those contemporary datasets to traditional warehoused information in order to produce customer-level risk analytics. With AI/ML, it optimizes the yield derived from each insurer’s direct-to-consumer distribution channels.

How much traction has your company gotten?

Over the last three years, we’ve recorded a growth of 492%, expanded into new countries and verticals, and integrated with several new partners. We now have more than 2.5 million customers in more than 60 countries, process hundreds of thousands of claims, and have a record net promoter score of +65.

How has being on the cloud and using AWS helped your startup scale fast?

Working with AWS has helped us meet the demand of our global network of partners who are focused on scaling their operations across multiple geographies and building new revenue lines that will perpetuate their growth.

With AWS, we have been able to easily scale our infrastructure and platform capabilities to offer insurance for any business in any country and language.

3. Uneeq

The Uneeq team / Photo credit: Uneeq

Founded in New Zealand in 2010, Uneeq enables anyone to create a “digital human” – AI-powered avatars that recreate human interactions – using its platform Uneeq Creator.

What is your core business or tech use case where you use an AI or ML-based solution?

Uneeq’s platform allows you to design and deploy your own customized, AI-powered digital human. We’ve made it super easy to take your existing data, chatbot, or application, and extend the experience beyond lifeless text in order to open up new possibilities and improve experiences for customers, staff, or patients.

How has being on the cloud and using AWS helped your startup scale fast?

Our platform requires a diverse set of workloads that we need to be scalable and consistently available. AWS’s size and global presence allows us to offer a consistent platform to customers across the globe.

We have also benefited from a close relationship with our AWS account team in New Zealand who has helped us in our growth and go-to-market efforts.

What are your plans for the future?

With the successful launch of Uneeq Creator, we intend to continue offering groundbreaking machine learning functionality and the ability to easily create and deploy unique digital human employees or brand ambassadors capable of recreating natural human interaction across any industry on a global scale.

With today’s economic climate, businesses are relying on emerging technology to help solve some of the most pressing issues, including extending the customer lifetime value by creating an extraordinary customer experience. With conversational artificial intelligence and digital humans, we continue to help companies efficiently scale, while at the same time adding a humanized and emotional connection throughout the customer journey.

The APAC AI Conclave is a free, virtual conference presented by Tech in Asia in partnership with Amazon Web Services and will be happening from November 25 to 26. Hear from these companies and more at the event, which will focus on helping AI/ML leaders and practitioners from the region’s startups build smart, customer-centric, and scalable solutions in the cloud using the latest, broadest, and deepest set of machine learning and AI services.

Get your ticket for free here.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.