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BootstrapLabs AAI18 Keynote and Fireside Chat – SoftBank Robotics AI Vision 2020

March 19, 2019/in AI, artificial intelligence, Blog, BootstrapLabs /by BootstrapLabs

Don’t miss this year’s Applied AI Conference 2019

on April 18th in San Francisco

Join thought leaders leveraging AI applications to build the future of enterprise, corporations, governments, and society as we know it.

For a limited time, get 50% off on registration using promo code AAI1950Percent

 

Register Now

 

In the meantime, please enjoy some of our favorite sessions from 2018:

Speakers:

  • Steve Carlin, Chief Strategy Officer, SoftBank Robotics
  • Ben Levy, Co-Founder, BootstrapLabs
  • Doug Aley, Chief Revenue Officer, Ever AI

During this session, the speakers discussed AI in robotics, and where SoftBank sees the future going in the next few years, some of the key challenges in hospitality and how companies can partner with SoftBank and the 2020 Vision.

Some of the key takeaways from the session are:

  • Contextualizing data is going to be a key differentiator in AI technologies moving forward like conversational UX and deciphering customer intent.
  • Robotics has the capability to disrupt the key revenue-driving experience for over 20 trillion dollar industry.
  • Be hyper focused in the use cases your technology will be able to solve instead of covering a wide range.

About Steve Carlin:
Steve Carlin leads SoftBank Robotics America and is the global Chief Strategy Officer. In this role, he acts as the General Manager for the Americas region and oversees global marketing, product and strategy. Carlin most recently came from Facebook where he held the role of Global Head of Strategy – Gaming. Prior to Facebook, Carlin was the Senior Director of Marketing and Insights for Ubisoft. He also held a series of roles in sales, shopper marketing, brand management, and strategy at Energizer and Procter & Gamble. He holds a BA in Geology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and an MBA in Marketing and International Business from Goizueta Business School. He has also studied at Cornell, HEC business school in Paris and the UIBE business school in Beijing.

About Ben Levy:
Ben is a Co-founder and Partner at BootstrapLabs, a leading Venture Capital firm based in Silicon Valley and focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence. Prior to BootstrapLabs, Ben was repeat entrepreneur who launched, built, and exited two startups in the financial technology space, Praedea Solution and InsideVenture. He also was a Technology, Media, and Telecom Investment Banker who advised startup founders and CxOs of Fortune 500 companies on corporate strategy, financing, and M&A. Over a period of 10 years, Ben helped his clients raise over $300M from institutional investors and close over $5B in M&A transactions. Ben is a frequent keynote and panel speaker on innovation, technology investing, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and globalization in the US, Europe, and Asia.

About Doug Aley:
Doug Aley has spent his career helping to found, lead, and scale startups. He is currently Ever AI’s CRO and a principal at Atomic Ventures. Prior to Ever AI, he held positions early in his career at Amazon, was VP of Marketing, Product, and Business development at Jott Networks, helped Zulily scale from $100M to $700M as VP of Product and Corporate Development, held the same role at Room77, and started and led Minted’s digital growth team. Mr. Aley holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and lives in Greenbrae, CA with his wife, Susan, and their two boys.

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AI Policy, artificial intelligence

BootstrapLabs AAI18 Panel – AI Policymakers: the Need for Public/Private Partnership

March 13, 2019/in AI, artificial intelligence, Blog, BootstrapLabs /by BootstrapLabs

Over the next several weeks we’ll be releasing the videos from the sessions from the BootstrapLabs Applied AI Conference 2018. The yearly conference organized by BootstrapLabs, a leading Venture Capital firm focused on Applied AI, that brings together over 800 members of the Artificial Intelligence community for a day of incredible speakers and exciting conversations.

Join the Applied AI Conference 2019, on April 18, in San Francisco

Join thought leaders leveraging AI applications to build the future of enterprise, corporations, governments, and society as we know it.

Register Now

A limited number of tickets are currently on sale at the Early Bird price ($1040 off) ENDING MARCH 15TH!

 

Moderator: Jane Macfarlane, CEO, Seurat Labs / Director – Smart Cities, UC Berkeley

Speakers:

  • Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head  of AI and Machine Learning, World Economic Forum
  • Norma Krayem, Sr. Policy Advisor and Co-Chair – Cybersecurity and Privacy, Holland & Knight
  • Raj Minhas,VP – Interaction and Analytics Lab, PARC

During this session, the panelists discussed AI in the context of regulation, the role of government in fostering and leveraging emerging technologies and the reasons why we need better public/private collaboration.

Some of the key takeaways from the session are:

  • Fostering and creating explainable models is going to be crucial to get government support and foster collaboration in the AI space.
  • Standards, certification, protocols, partnerships and process or outcomes based scalable laws are some of the avenues we need to explore to “regulate” AI.
  • Open, honest conversations are necessary between technology companies and regulators, it’s important to educate them on how the technology works and the real risks with integrating to different systems.

About Jane Macfarlane:
Jane Macfarlane is the CEO of Seurat Labs and is also the Director of Smart Cities and Sustainable Mobility at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Macfarlane has over 30 years of experience in high performance computing, data analytics and geospatial mapping. She has held various roles responsible for directing industry research groups including: Chief Scientist and Head of Research for HERE, VP of Process Engineering at Imara, and Director of Advanced Technology Planning for OnStar at General Motors. She has authored 26 patents, primarily in geospatial data analytics. She holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Currently she is leading a DOE National Laboratory effort focused on the use of High Performance Computing to address Big Data Issues in transportation systems.

About Kay Firth-Butterfield:
Kay Firth-Butterfield is the Head of AI & ML at the World Economic Forum and is a Barrister-at-Law and former part-time Judge in the UK. She is an Associate Fellow of the Centre for the Future of Intelligence at Cambridge and Fellow of the Robert E. Strauss Center on international Security and Law at the University of Texas. She is Vice-Chair of the IEEE Initiative on Ethical Considerations in AI and Autonomous Systems. She is one of Robohub’s top 25 Women in Robotics and co-founded AI-Austin, AI-Global and the Consortium for Law and Policy of AI and Robotics.

About Norma Krayem:
Norma Krayem is a Senior Policy Advisor and Co-Chair of the Holland & Knight Global Cybersecurity and Privacy Team. She brings more than 20 years of experience within the global policy-making arena including executive-level positions in the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce and Transportation, and as a consultant at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She works on a daily basis with the White House, Executive Branch and Congress on a host of matters, including Homeland Security, Commerce, Defense, Treasury, Transportation among others. She is a member of The Chatham House and served on the prestigious CSIS Cybersecurity Task Force from 2015-2017.

About Raj Minhas:
Raj Minhas is Vice President and Director of the Interactions and Analytics Lab (IAL) at PARC. Research in IAL focuses on people and their behaviors. Raj joined PARC in September 2013 as the Program Manager for Prognostics and Health Management and was responsible for the strategy and execution for the commercialization of the related technologies. Prior to PARC, he was the Director of Xerox Research Center India where he led its growth, development, and outreach for two years. Raj earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Toronto and B.E. from Delhi University. He has eight patents and six pending patent applications.

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BootstrapLabs Applied AI Workshop: AI and Human Capital

January 9, 2019/in AI, Blog, Event /by BootstrapLabs

 

Date and Time: Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Location: San Francisco

Registration: This event is INVITE ONLY. You can request more information at events@bootstraplabs.com

Come join us to learn more about how Artificial Intelligence will revolutionize the enterprise of tomorrow, and how Applied AI solutions can help executives and leaders around the world better manage, attract and engage their employees and customers.

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds, companies are seeking to harness new and emerging technologies to reach higher levels of efficiency and compete on a global scale for innovation, customers, and talent.

Artificial Intelligence is here to stay, and will drastically change the way we do business and live. The economic and social impact of artificial intelligence technologies will ultimately depend on how quickly organizations and institutions are able to learn, adapt, control, and ultimately wield these powerful technologies for the greater good.

Over the last 30 years, the allocation of market capitalization value for corporations has shifted from 80% being assigned to tangible assets (machinery, plants, buildings, etc), to 80% being assigned to their intangible assets (brands, intellectual properties, trade secrets, business processes, and talent).

They are many opportunities and challenges ahead, and as a Venture Capital firm focused on Applied AI technologies, BootstrapLabs believes that the success of any business today, more so than any other time before, will ultimately be determinate by their ability to not only adopt AI solutions across their entire business but also, and maybe most critically, apply AI to known critical factors such as attracting, retaining, developing and managing their pool of Human Capital as well as delighting their customers.

Agenda:

  • 5:00pm – 5:25pm: Registration & Networking
  • 5:25pm – 5:30pm: Greetings and Introduction by BootstrapLabs
  • 5:30pm – 5:45pm: “Applied AI and Human Capital Investment Trends”, Ben Levy, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, BootstrapLabs
  • 5:45pm – 6:00pm: “Bringing AI in the Enterprise – Legal Considerations”, Natalie A. Pierce, Partner, Littler
  • 6:00pm – 6:20pm: “Scaling your Enterprise Conversational Knowledge”, Jonathan Eisenzopf, CEO, Discourse.ai
  • 6:20pm – 6:40pm: “Corporate Culture 2.0”, Sabrina Atienza, Co-Founder & CEO, Stealth Mode Startup
  • 6:40pm – 7:30pm: “Applied AI and Human Capital Panel + Q&A”, moderated by Debi Hirshlag, Advisor and former VP, HR at Workday, Flex, Trimble & Ariba
  • 7:15pm – 8:00pm: Networking Reception

Speakers:

Ben Levy, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, BootstrapLabs

Jonathan Eisenzopf, CEO, Discourse.ai

Natalie A. Pierce, Partner, Littler

 

Sabrina Atienza, Co-Founder & CEO, Stealth Mode Startup

Debi Hirshlag, Advisor and former VP, HR at Workday, Flex, Trimble & Ariba

Thank You To Our Host

Image result for littler mendelson logo

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b.telligent and BootstrapLabs partner to accelerate the adoption of AI technology among German and Swiss Corporations

December 20, 2018/in AI, artificial intelligence /by BootstrapLabs

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, US and MUNICH, GERMANY, Dec. 20th, 2018 /PRNewswire/ – b.telligent, a Munich and Zurich based premier data science and business intelligence management consulting company, and BootstrapLabs, a Silicon Valley based venture capital firm focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence, today announced the formation of a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of AI technology among b.telligent’s existing and future corporate customers.

Accenture estimates that AI has the potential to boost rates of profitability by an average of 38% and could lead to an economic boost of US$14 trillion by 2035 globally. With so much at stake, and a possible reallocation of wealth from traditional players to digital first players, Germany and Switzerland are among the countries with the most to lose if their multinational corporations fall behind during the AI revolution.

“We are excited to partner with b.telligent,” said Nicolai Wadstrom, Founder, CEO, and Managing Partner of BootstrapLabs. “Klaus and Sebastian have assembled a great pool of talent with deep domain knowledge expertise in data warehousing, data management, data science, and data strategy that helps their clients successfully transition into the new data driven world. As such, they represent an ideal partner to roll out some of our portfolio companies’ products across their client base of over 300 companies, and in doing so, accelerate the adoption of innovative AI solutions for Germany and Switzerland, and some of their leading multinational corporations.”

For the past 3 years, BootstrapLabs has been exclusively investing in Applied AI technologies and has assembled an exciting portfolio of 22 companies, each looking to solve hard and meaningful problems in multibillion dollar industries.

“Startups often waste time and capital figuring out which of the several large corporations they are talking to today i) can quickly and fairly evaluate their solution, ii) has the budget to purchase their solution in the next 3-6 months, and iii) is ready to scale that solution across their entire organization,” said Benjamin Levy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of BootstrapLabs.

“b.telligent is in an incredible position to accelerate BootstrapLabs’ portfolio companies’ revenue generation, as we not only have our customers’ trust (such as Telefónica, Car2Go, Puma or BSH), but we have an intimate understanding of their readiness level as well as often act as an extension of their team, managing the very data that is required for these AI solutions to become valuable to our clients,” said Sebastian Amtage, Managing Director of b.telligent.

“We believe that Artificial Intelligence poses a large threat, as well as unprecedented opportunity for every company, and we look forward to working closely with BootstrapLabs, their portfolio companies, and their large community of AI experts to support our customers on their journey to apply Artificial Intelligence,” said Klaus Blaschek, Co-Founder and Managing Director of b.telligent.

 

Media Contact

 

BootstrapLabs

press@bootstraplabs.com

 

b.telligent GmbH & Co. KG

pr@btelligent.com

Greta Wenske

 

About BootstrapLabs

Founded in 2008, BootstrapLabs is a leading Venture Capital firm based in Silicon Valley and focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence. We invest in founders that dream big and are solving today’s hardest problems by applying artificial intelligence to shape a better future for all.

BootstrapLabs works closely with some the world’s most prominent families and their multinational corporations to actively invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) startups targeting large global markets including Industrial Manufacturing, Transportation, Logistics, FinTech, Enterprise Productivity, Cybersecurity, and Healthcare.

BootstrapLabs is often the first institutional money and acts as a lead investor in the early stages, with follow-on capital at the growth stages.

Select portfolio companies include AEye, Mendel, Qurious, Vidora, Sibly, Myia Labs, Indus.ai, iUNU, SmartEar, Nodle.io, Roger, Prezi, Pryon, Trusted Insight, and AngelList.

BootstrapLabs leverages its large community of over 40,000 Applied AI experts, entrepreneurs, and developers to support its portfolio companies and investment strategies.

For more information visit: https://bootstraplabs.com

 

About b.telligent

b.telligent is considered one of the market leaders in Germany for business intelligence consulting projects. The main objective of b.telligent is to enable clients to tackle the challenges of the present and upcoming digital transformation. In order to meet those challenges, it is important for b.telligent to support its clients in the deployment of some of the most advanced data science techniques such as artificial intelligence and machine learning while at the same time ensuring these ventures are based on solid data fundamentals.

Additionally, b.telligent continuously strives to optimize clients business processes by applying knowledge gained through consolidation and analysis of business information all resulting in increased margins, lowered cost and improved risk management.

Our customers are leaders in their sectors, such as telecommunications, financial services, trade, and the industry. Since 2004, over 300 clients have benefited from our “data-first” approach. With over 160 employees spread across six offices, we are passionate about joining our clients in establishing and advancing their data-driven business models.

For more information visit: https://btelligent.com

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BootstrapLabs AAI18 Keynote and Fireside Chat – Death of Moore’s Law

December 19, 2018/in AI, artificial intelligence, Blog, BootstrapLabs /by BootstrapLabs

Over the next several weeks we’ll be releasing the videos from the sessions from the BootstrapLabs Applied AI Conference 2018. The yearly conference organized by BootstrapLabs, a leading Venture Capital firm focused on Applied AI, that brings together over 800 members of the Artificial Intelligence community for a day of incredible speakers and exciting conversations.

Speakers:

  • Tom Campbell, Founder & President, FutureGrasp, LLC
  • Madhav Thattai, Chief Operating Officer, Rigetti Computing
  • Sateesh Kumar, Founder, Pathtronic

During this session, the speakers discussed the future of computing in the age of AI, Neuromorphic and Quantum computing and edge use cases and applications.

Some of the key takeaways from the session are:

  • The death of Moore’s Law as originally define has given birth to a variety of them depending on the technology leveraged: neuromorphic, quantum, among others.
  • There’s a shift in the industry from bigger companies to focus on creating their own use-case-specific chip architecture.
  • We need to bring more power to edge computing to really provide AI solutions that work and leverage insights in real time.

About Tom Campbell:
Thomas A. Campbell, Ph.D.is the founder and president of FutureGrasp, which advises organizations on trends and impact of emerging technologies, and a special advisor to BootstrapLabs. Prior to this, Tom was the first National Intelligence Officer for Technology with the National Intelligence Council. Tom holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University.

About Madhav Thattai:
Madhav Thattai is the COO of Rigetti Computing, a full-stack quantum computing company based in Berkeley, California. Prior to joining Rigetti in 2015, Madhav worked at Dell Computing for eight years in a variety of roles, most recently as Director of Product Operations. Madhav holds a Master’s degree in management from Stanford University, a Master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India.

About Sateesh Kumar:
Sateesh is the Founder and CEO of Pathtronic Inc, a silicon valley start-up company focused on building revolutionary AI Processing Unit. Sateesh is a visionary and seasoned entrepreneurial executive and innovator with broad technology background. He has been advisor to multiple corporations, start-ups, incubators, and universities in the area of AI, Autonomous Vehicles and Drones, and more. As a former innovation and incubation executive at Cisco, he pioneered and led various initiatives in the area of IOT, Automotive and Connected Vehicles, Industrial Switching and Automation, Smart Cities, Mobile and Wireless, Fog Computing, Big Data and Machine Learning and more. Prior to Cisco, he founded and led multiple Silicon Valley venture funded start-ups. He has published extensively in international journals including IEEE/ACM and holds dozens of granted patents.

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Banish the Darkness with Artificial Intelligence

November 26, 2018/in AI, AI News, artificial intelligence, Blog, Energy, News, Nicolai Wadstrom, Silicon Valley /by BootstrapLabs

The Need

Most everything we do in life requires electricity. Transportation, farming, homes, businesses, computing—they all necessitate the efficient movement of electrons from a power production source to an energy use site¹. Unfortunately, since Thomas Alva Edison first illuminated a Menlo Park street in 1879 – thus banishing the darkness 2 – the  demands humanity has placed upon energy utilities have skyrocketed and consequently at least parts of our energy grid have become brittle and prone to failure. Moreover, the complexity of operating local, regional and national systems that are susceptible to cyber-attacks has made electricity a critical topic for national security.

World population has quintupled since the first sustained artificial light in the late 1800s. With more than 7.6 billion people 3 now teeming on our planet and all of us needing increasing amounts of energy 4, we cannot rely anymore on simple dynamo generators creating electricity and sending it straight to the desired location. On the contrary, our electricity grids are highly complex with numerous power sources (coal, gas, oil, nuclear, and renewables—biomass, solar, wind); switching and amplifying stations; transformers; above and below ground wiring; and storage batteries. Unsurprisingly, even considering conservative trends, our energy use is growing rapidly:

“In the New Policies Scenario, global energy needs rise more slowly than in the past but still expand by 30% between today and 2040. This is the equivalent of adding another China and India to today’s global demand.” 5

Moreover, our already highly electrified society will become even more dependent on charged electrons with new technologies. The Internet of Things (IoT), which requires cloud and edge computing at massive scale, is forecasted to exceed 75 billion devices connected to the internet by 2025 (up from 23 billion presently).6 Research into autonomous vehicles is rapidly approaching deployment stages. Testing underway in Phoenix, AZ and Pittsburgh, PA may be halted temporarily because of bad algorithms causing accidents or irregular policies, but other countries are not waiting around for the United States to perfect driverless cars. China is building cities specifically designed for autonomous vehicles.7 The Hyperloop – Elon Musk’s dream of accelerating people and cargo in a vacuum tube to near the speed of sound – is being tested in the United States and Europe.8

Population growth is also spurring construction of whole cities from scratch; examples abound in Asia. China plans on constructing a new city the size of Chicago (2.7 million people) with the latest technologies, and thus high energy demands.5 With support from Singapore, the Indian state Andhra Pradesh is building a new capital. “It will be a stupendous 7,235 square kilometres, 10 times the size of Singapore’s own 716 square kilometres.”9

The Risks

With so much riding on our need for energy, we must avoid costly failures. For example, when one author [TAC] worked in the semiconductor industry, the great Northeast Blackout of 2003 was tripped only a few miles from the production facility where he worked. The source of the power failure was overgrown tree branches that had fallen on a transformer. Normally, this would have remained a local issue, but the lead utility failed to react quickly enough to disengage the switches to other grids, thus causing a cascading, multi-grid failure for 50 million people from Ohio to New York to southeast Canada. People were trapped in subway cars and elevators for hours; cell phone service was disrupted for millions. 10 11

Perhaps even more dangerous than a lack of sensors on the grid and failed switches is the looming possibility of a cyber-attack targeting fragile points in the electrical system. Industry is spending billions in its attempts to strengthen cybersecurity of the brittle grid.12 “U.S. utilities will spend a cumulative $7.25 billion in security from now until 2020, with distribution automation assets as the core focus.”13 Grid security is a major issue within the US Government; simulations of cyber-attacks are routinely done by groups such as DOE and DHS.14 15

While a completely failure-proof grid may be impossible with the moving demand target caused by new technologies online and rapidly growing electricity demands, companies and government agencies must nevertheless do their best to anticipate and to prevent both accidental and nefarious situations before they happen. This presents a unique opportunity to engage newly accelerated capabilities of computers, especially artificial intelligence (AI).

The Opportunities

A core challenge with global electrical grids is their growing complexity. Growing exabytes of data from billions of IoT sensors, coupled with too-fast-for-humans reaction speeds required by increasing power demands, make a purely human-controlled electrical grid impossible. To sustain our growing needs, we must resort to a more digitalized approach.

There has been much talk recently about the so-called “smart grid,” defined as an electricity supply network that uses digital communications technology to detect and react to local changes in usage. 16 A smart grid has three major facets: data from sensors, computational power and optimized algorithms. Let us discuss the third point in detail.

Algorithm development has progressed in concert with Moore’s Law – the doubling of the number of transistors on a given semiconductor chip roughly every two years. In the early days of computers, there were a limited number of programming languages – Basic, Fortran, C/C++, Cobol, etc. Nowadays, companies such as Google develop their own proprietary operating systems as a routine course of smart business action. Increasingly, those algorithms are leveraging the power of AI.

While there are many definitions for AI, it can be defined simply as the ability of a machine to perform tasks commonly executed by a human. 17 AI is presently the hottest ICT 18 market sector. PwC estimates that global GDP will increase $15.7 trillion (a +14% boost compared to today) by 2030 as a result of AI. 19 20 Such a huge economic contribution cannot be understated, and organizations are investing aggressively accordingly. Venture capital funding pumped almost $5 billion into AI startups in 2017 alone. 21 AI has become a top corporate spending priority, with many hundreds of billions of dollars devoted to nabbing top talent and to securing algorithmic leadership. 22 There is a global race among governments to capture the title of AI world leader.  23

The reason for this flood of venture capital, corporate and government funding is that AI can solve problems far faster than humans, and in some cases solve problems that no human can. While we humans are smarter than any other living being on Earth, we are still rather dumb when it comes to absorbing and processing quickly vast amounts of data. The human mind is limited also to mostly working on a single task; despite some claims, we are generally horrible at multitasking. 24 Computers don’t have those limitations.

How might AI help the energy sector? We suggest there are two primary means by which advanced AI algorithms can improve efficiency, enhance safety, and improve the bottom line for energy utilities: grid optimization and cybersecurity.

Grid Optimization. To reap the benefits of the smart grid, AI will be a true necessity. “AI will be the brain of this future smart grid. The technology will continuously collect and synthesize overwhelming amounts of data from millions of smart sensors nationwide to make timely decisions on how to best allocate energy resources. Additionally, the advances made from ‘deep learning’ algorithms, a system where machines learn on their own from spotting patterns and anomalies in large data sets, will revolutionize both the demand and supply side of the energy economy.” 25

A challenge for utilities is maintaining consistent power. When there is a sudden increase in demand, the go-to reaction for utilities is to power-up ‘peaker plants’ that run on fossil fuels, generally natural gas. 26 Able to be turned-on within minutes of the detection of a demand spike – for example, due to increased air conditioning or heating requirements from a weather front moving through an area – peaker plants are unfortunately terribly inefficient and polluting. AI might assist in diminishing the use of peaker plants by leveraging advanced forecasting capabilities – for example, considering weather forecasts, regional demand cycles, and smart meter sensors in a single holistic package. The solution of such multidimensional problems is a strength of AI over humans. Such efforts could save utilities significant funds that they could funnel into further grid improvements.

One recent success story in using AI for energy optimization is that of Google’s deployment of algorithms to reduce electricity consumption in their server farms. Google has thousands of data centers worldwide to run search, store and process emails, etc. Those countless banks of GPUs 27 and memory storage systems consume tremendous amounts of electricity and tend to overheat. Because of their increasing presence and inherent inefficiencies, it is estimated that 2% of the world’s energy is consumed by data centers. 28 Both to save costs and to show-off its earlier purchase of the British AI startup DeepMind, Google decided to test AI in improving the cooling efficiency of their computer banks. “The autonomous AI control system initially led to a 12 percent improvement, which over nine months of operation increased to around a 30 percent improvement, with further improvements expected over time as its decisions are improved by having more training data. Google said in the long term that there is potential to apply the technology in other industrial settings.”29

Finally, AI can assist in converting incoming power to be acceptable to a grid. Every energy utility has a mix of power sources that it taps to provide its customer base their electricity. That mix is optimized based on price and, more recently, social perception for use of renewables. A challenge with multiple power sources – natural gas, oil, coal, nuclear, renewables – is to seamlessly integrate them all into the single grid. For example, wind and solar power sources require special converters to enable them to plug into the grid. “The high penetration of renewable energy systems is calling for new more stringent grid requirements. As a consequence, the grid converters should be able to exhibit advanced functions like dynamic control of active and reactive power, operation within a wide range of voltage and frequency, voltage ride-through capability, reactive current injection during faults, and grid services support.”30 AI could assist with energy conversion from renewables by leveraging deep learning to identify key performance optimization criteria and thus enable efficient uptake of the generated power into the smart grid.

Cybersecurity. Ironically, the very action of creating a smart grid makes it more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Standardizing hardware and software, as well as creating a high degree of connectivity, enables hackers easier access to the grid through a greater variety of means. Programmed backdoors, firmware chip hacks, and even fake chips on motherboards 31 can all compromise the security of a given system.

Humans are inherently limited in what we can accomplish in cybersecurity. Our minds require rest, eating, drinking, etc.; cyber-attack bots require none of that. Thus, even though we might have the best intentions to be ever-diligent in the face of malware or phishing attacks, eventually we will slip up and allow nefarious actors access to sensitive computer systems.

Four years ago, seeing the rapid advances occurring in AI and knowing the challenges of human-centered cybersecurity, one author [TAC] forecasted that soon cybersecurity would enter the realm of “AI vs. AI,” i.e., AI algorithms would be both sources of attacks and defense. We are close to that time now. In the last few years, there has been a surge of interest in coupling the powers of AI, especially deep learning, to cybersecurity. 32 Thousands of companies globally now claim some form of AI in their cybersecurity offerings. Although it is debatable whether all these startups and corporate entities are truly using AI (some startups treat “AI” as a form of pixie dust—sprinkle it in a pitch in attempts to get funding), it makes sense to leverage the powers of learning algorithms to monitor and to react to cyber-attacks.

Ultimately, using AI for cybersecurity may not be just a choice but an imperative in the energy industry. In the United States, the complexity of the grid—with more than 8,000 power plants, 200,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, and 5.5 million miles of local distribution lines 33 34—necessitates that even local utilities must think hard about how they monitor their systems for intrusive cyber-attacks.

The Means

So how do utilities leverage the power (no pun intended) of AI? One challenge for cash-strapped utilities is that AI experts are in such demand that a starting salary for a star AI programmer can exceed seven dollar figures35. Thus, a more cost-effective approach may be partnerships among established startups and corporate entities that already have in-house expertise in AI. One such partnership was announced recently between BootstrapLabs (a leading venture capital firm focused on Applied AI in San Francisco) and innogy SE (a leading Germany energy company):

“BootstrapLabs and the innogy Innovation Hub will coordinate globally to build the largest artificial intelligence community for energy ecosystems, and provide a combination of capital and support to Applied AI startups that reimagine the future of energy production, distribution and management across decentralized and interconnected energy services for consumers, machines, enterprises, and public sector agencies.” 36

Sebastian Niestrath, SVP Infrastructure Platform Ventures at innogy New Ventures LLC, further clarified: “The need to interpret massive amounts of data and use AI-supported algorithms for grid operations is becoming increasingly important, especially in Germany – where electricity from renewable sources has pretty much quadrupled during the last 15 years and where millions of solar panels are now installed on residential buildings.” Moreover, with the California Energy Commission unanimously voting 5-0 in favor of mandating that all single-family homes, apartments and condominium complexes of three stories or less require solar panels as of January 2020, California will quickly follow suit in the need for AI-supported algorithms for grid operations.

Further such engagements among all major energy players – including utilities, AI experts, and local/regional/national governments – will be imperative as grid demands and threats increase.

The Future

As our population continues to grow and more technology gets plugged into existing grids, it will be incumbent upon utilities to increase efficiencies to remain cost-effective and to avoid grid failures. Moreover, the growing threat from cyber-attacks will demand that power companies better protect their grids from nefarious actors. AI is one approach that can significantly help utilities move into this challenging world. Opportunities will be strong and risks could be minimized for those leaders who embrace the capabilities of advanced computation.


Authors

Thomas A. Campbell, Special Advisor, BootstrapLabs and Founder of FutureGrasp, LLC

Thomas A. Campbell, Ph.D., is Founder and President of FutureGrasp, LLC (https://www.futuregrasp.com/), which advises organizations worldwide on trends and implications of emerging technologies.

Thomas is also serving as Special Advisor of BootstrapLabs, for Applied AI intellectual propriety development as well as assisting BootstrapLabs to expand its network reach and meet new opportunities into government sectors.

From February 2015 to August 2017, he was the first National Intelligence Officer for Technology (NIO-TECH) with the National Intelligence Council (NIC) in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Tom’s insights have informed senior policymakers, enabled millions of dollars in industry and academic funding, broken ground in multiple new research areas, and kept diverse groups abreast of the rapid pace and implications of technology change.

Dr. Campbell is focused on emerging & disruptive science and technologies, especially identifying, tracking, forecasting and implications. He has extensive experience in government, academia, and industry – nationally and internationally. More about Tom at this link here.

Nicolai Wadstrom, Founder & CEO, BootstrapLabs

Nicolai is the Founder, CEO and Managing Partner of BootstrapLabs, a leading venture capital firm, based in Silicon Valley and focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence.

Nicolai has spent all of his professional life building technology companies. He started his first business at the age of 15 in the late 1980s and in 2008 he founded BootstrapLabs to build a scalable investment platform focused on being the most valuable partner for entrepreneurs to build successful companies.

With decades of operational and entrepreneurial experience, and having invested in, advised, and mentored over 30 companies, Nicolai works with investment decisions, and post investment mentorship to support scaling for BootstrapLabs’ portfolio companies.

BootstrapLabs is a Venture Capital company focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence that combines Venture Capital and Human Capital to build companies that define our future.

BootstrapLabs unique Venture Builder platform provides all the resources top-tier entrepreneurs need to take their companies from innovation to a Scalable Product Market Fit and from there to growth.

Prior to BootstrapLabs, Nicolai among other things founded a cutting edge Enterprise Software company (in the ECM and EAI space), he also co-founded and IPO’d the first CFD/FSB trading platform in the Nordics, and pioneered Virtual Reality in 1996. More about Nicolai at this link.


References:

  1. “Power is the capacity to use Energy…Power is like the strength of a weightlifter and Energy is the measure of how long he can sustain the output of power…Power is ‘watt’ and Energy is ‘watt-hour’.” http://www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-energy-and-power/#ixzz5Sze5vPtN 
  2. C. Klein, (December 17, 2014), “When Edison Turned Night into Day,” History, https://www.history.com/news/when-edison-turned-night-into-day
  3. “World Population by Year,” http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/
  4. The population considered in the middle class, and thus more prominent consumers of energy, is exploding globally. H. Kharas, February 17, 2017, “The unprecedented expansion of the global middle class,” Brookings, https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-unprecedented-expansion-of-the-global-middle-class-2/  
  5. “World Energy Outlook 2017,” https://www.iea.org/weo2017/
  6. “Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices installed base worldwide from 2015 to 2025 (in billions),” https://www.statista.com/statistics/471264/iot-number-of-connected-devices-worldwide/
  7. Kai-Fu Lee, “AI Super-Powers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order,” 2018, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston.
  8. Hawkins, April 15, 2018, “World’s third hyperloop test track is now under construction,” The Verge, https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/15/17235262/hyperloop-transportation-technologies-test-track-france
  9. C. Cram, January 7, 2015, “Why Singapore is building a new Indian city 10 times its own size,” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/jan/07/singapore-building-india-city-andhra-pradesh
  10. History Editors, August 21, 2018, “2003 Blackout hits Northeast United States,” This Day in History, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/blackout-hits-northeast-united-states
  11. The plant where [TAC] worked had diesel generators that kicked-in immediately upon the power loss to avoid thousands of dollars per hour of manufacturing losses. The plant manager nevertheless called FirstEnergy Corporation quickly to find out what happened and when power would be restored. Their unbelievable initial response was, “Don’t worry, we’re on it. We’re watching CNN right now to figure out what happened.”
  12. C. Douris, September 21, 2017, “Utilities Will Spend Billions On Cybersecurity As Threat Grows,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/constancedouris/2017/09/21/utilities-will-spend-billions-on-cybersecurity-as-threat-grows/#2dbe47b26cfe
  13. J. St. John, April 17, 2013, “Report: US Smart Grid Cybersecurity Spending to Reach $7.25B by 2020,” GTM, https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/report-u-s-smart-grid-cybersecurity-spending-to-reach-7-25b-by-2020#gs.ZB7iBm8
  14. Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security
  15. G. Bade, August 7, 2018, “Report: DOE, DHS planning new grid cybersecurity exercise this fall,” Utility Dive, https://www.utilitydive.com/news/report-doe-dhs-planning-new-grid-cybersecurity-exercise-this-fall/529518/
  16. https://www.google.com/ 
  17. Marr, February 14, 2018, “The Key Definitions Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) That Explain Its Importance,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/02/14/the-key-definitions-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-that-explain-its-importance/#15b1f7be4f5d
  18. Information and Communication Technologies
  19. “Sizing the prize – PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study: Exploiting the AI Revolution,” 2017, https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/data-and-analytics/publications/artificial-intelligence-study.html
  20. PwC, Jue 27, 2017, “AI to drive GDP gains of $15.7 trillion with productivity, personalisation improvements,”  https://press.pwc.com/News-releases/ai-to-drive-gdp-gains-of–15.7-trillion-with-productivity–personalisation-improvements/s/3cc702e4-9cac-4a17-85b9-71769fba82a6
  21. J.D. Rowley, March 2, 2018, “Venture Funding Into AI And Machine Learning Levels Off As Tech Matures,” CrunchBase, https://news.crunchbase.com/news/venture-funding-ai-machine-learning-levels-off-tech-matures/
  22. Seitz, April 6, 2018, “Artificial Intelligence Becoming Top Corporate Spending Priority,” Investors Business Daily, https://www.investors.com/news/technology/artificial-intelligence-ai-spending/
  23. Minevich, December 5, 2017, “These Seven Countries Are In A Race To Rule The World With AI,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2017/12/05/these-seven-countries-are-in-a-race-to-rule-the-world-with-ai/#69c6478b4c24
  24. N.K. Napier, May 12, 2014, “The Myth of Multitasking,” Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/creativity-without-borders/201405/the-myth-multitasking
  25. Wolfe, August 28, 2017, “How Artificial Intelligence Will Revolutionize the Energy Industry,” Harvard University, http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/artificial-intelligence-will-revolutionize-energy-industry/
  26. “Peaking Power Plant,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peaking_power_plant
  27. Graphics Processing Units, the current workhorse for deep learning AI.
  28. Pearce, April 3, 2018, “Energy Hogs: Can World’s Huge Data Centers Be Made More Efficient?,” Yale Environment 360, https://e360.yale.edu/features/energy-hogs-can-huge-data-centers-be-made-more-efficient
  29. Ranger, August 20, 2018, “ Google just put an AI in charge of keeping its data centers cool,” ZDNet, https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-just-put-an-ai-in-charge-of-keeping-its-data-centers-cool/
  30. Teodorescu, 2011, “Grid Converters for Photovoltaic and Wind Power Systems 1st Edition,” John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., https://www.amazon.com/Grid-Converters-Photovoltaic-Power-Systems/dp/0470057513
  31. Robertson, M. Riley, October 4, 2018, “The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies,” Bloomberg Businessweek, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-hack-how-china-used-a-tiny-chip-to-infiltrate-america-s-top-companies?srnd=premium&mod=djemceocouncil
  32. “Applied AI Conference 2018 – Panel – Applied AI and Cybersecurity – Making the Enterprise More Secure,” BootstrapLabs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ckuyHpyA00
  33. December 8, 2017, “How many power plants are there in the United States?,” https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=65&t=2
  34. J. Weeks, April 28, 2010, “U.S. Electrical Grid Undergoes Massive Transition to Connect to Renewables,” Scientific American, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-smart-grid/
  35. C. Metz, April 19, 2018, “A.I. Researchers Are Making More Than $1 Million, Even at a Nonprofit,” New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/technology/artificial-intelligence-salaries-openai.html
  36. Press Release, October 3, 2018, “innogy Innovation Hub and BootstrapLabs to Form a Partnership for Investments in AI and Energy,” San Francisco Business Times, https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/prnewswire/press_releases/California/2018/10/03/NY26733
https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/11/applied_ai_bootstraplabs_energy.jpg 636 955 BootstrapLabs https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/08/Bootstrap-website_white_logo.png BootstrapLabs2018-11-26 15:12:552019-04-27 15:19:21Banish the Darkness with Artificial Intelligence
applied ai conference

The Best AI Conferences in 2019

November 26, 2018/in AI, AI News, artificial intelligence, Blog, Event, News, Silicon Valley /by Luigi Congedo

BootstrapLabs is pleased to announce that our annual Applied AI Conference has been selected by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, in the article “The 16 AI and ML conferences you should attend in 2019” as one of the top AI events to attend next year.

This recognition is the latest in a series of recommendations we have received from many AI experts, companies, and journalists, including Business Insider last year.

VC investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning doubled from $6 billion in 2016 to $12 billion in 2017 (Source. KPMG), and investments are at an all time high in the space.

With the AI market projected to grow over 20 fold in the next 10 years to $3 trillion annually, we believe Applied Artificial Intelligence represents one of the major wealth creation opportunities of this century.

If you want to increase your knowledge and connections in the industry, become an AI champion inside your organization, or find new career opportunities, the Applied AI Conference 2019 would definitely be a great event to attend. Discount tickets and more information are available on our conference web page – link here.

BootstrapLabs also has a limited number of sponsorship opportunities available for select partners; you can learn more about these opportunities and request more information at this link.

Below you can find the article from Hewlett Packard Enterprise:

The 16 AI and ML conferences you should attend in 2019

If you want to grow your career, consider attending one of these great artificial intelligence and machine learning conferences for IT pros. Whether you’re a manager, developer, or researcher, doing so will help you meet expert colleagues and improve your skills.

AI is as hot as a laptop with a broken fan—so scorching that some conferences promise to exclude recruiters. As such, there are plenty of organizations motivated to share AI and machine learning information. This overview aims to help you identify the conferences that are worth your time and meet your needs.

At first glance, you could use a background in data mining just to sort through all the events that have “artificial Intelligence” in their titles or include AI conference tracks. I winnowed down the offerings based on the quality of speakers, attendees, and networking opportunities. However, your own needs are the ultimate filter: Are you a programmer looking to increase your skills? An executive looking for competitive insights? A researcher looking to share ideas? A tech recruiter looking for prospects? A prospect looking to dodge recruiters? Some conferences are large and multifaceted enough that nearly anyone can get something out of them. Others appeal only to researchers in subspecialties.

The list below aims to give you enough details to make an informed decision. It is ordered by date, with gold stars for the conferences I think merit close attention. The conference list starts in late 2018, in part because few organizations have published details about fall 2019 events; the coming-soon events provide enough information for you to decide whether they should be on your schedule for next year.

Full article available at – https://www.hpe.com/us/en/insights/articles/the-16-ai-and-ml-conferences-you-should-attend-in-2019-1811.html

https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/10/AAI_EVENT_AAI19-1.png 480 960 Luigi Congedo https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/08/Bootstrap-website_white_logo.png Luigi Congedo2018-11-26 14:12:582018-12-07 15:04:58The Best AI Conferences in 2019

BootstrapLabs is pleased to announce our next Applied AI Insiders Series event: Artificial Intelligence & Energy

October 30, 2018/in AI, AI News, Blog, Event /by Luigi Congedo

Artificial Intelligence & Energy, in partnership with the innogy Innovation Hub.

Date and Time: Wednesday, December 12, 2018 | 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Location: Galvanize, 44 Tehama Street, San Francisco, California 94105

Registration: This event is INVITE ONLY. If you did not receive an invitation you can request one below.

REQUEST AN INVITE

We stand in front of the 4th and largest wave of the industrial revolution, powered by AI and data. This is the biggest opportunity, so far, for innovation and entrepreneurship, and every single industry will be disrupted and redefined by companies that are not yet even born.

With the AI market projected to grow over 20 fold in the next 10 years to $3 Trillion annually, we believe Applied Artificial Intelligence represents one of the major wealth creation opportunities of this century.

Our energy system is changing rapidly – becoming more digital, decentralized and more democratic. For example, we are witnessing the rise of “prosumers” who are taking energy generation and management into their own hands. So what does the future energy systems look like?

We believe this future cannot be built by iterating on the status quo, but by carrying out radical innovation – including harnessing the ever-increasing amount of data and applying new technologies like AI. Artificial Intelligence will transform the way we produce, distribute, and consume energy – continuously collecting and analyzing data from millions of smart sensors, and making smart decisions on how, where, and when to allocate energy more efficiently.

Come join us to learn more about how Artificial Intelligence will revolutionize the energy industry.

BootstrapLabs and the innogy Innovation Hub are working globally to build the largest artificial intelligence community for energy ecosystems, and provide a combination of capital and support to Applied AI startups.

This is an INVITATION ONLY event with very limited capacity. BootstrapLabs reserves the right to cancel any tickets.

Contact events@bootstraplabs.com to request additional invitations.

AGENDA:

5:30 pm – 5:50 pm | Registration & Networking

5:50 pm – 6:10 pm | Welcome Message and Introduction by BootstrapLabs

6:10 pm – 7:40 pm | AI and Energy Keynotes

7:40 pm – 8:30 pm | Networking and drinks

SPEAKERS:

Ben Levy, Co-Founder, BootstrapLabs

Ben has been actively investing in technology startups and supporting BootstrapLabs’ portfolio companies. Born in France and living in Silicon Valley for the past 20 years, Ben is a repeat entrepreneur who launched, built and exited two startups in the financial technology space.

Earlier in his career, Ben was an Investment Banker who advised CxOs of Fortune 500 companies and startup founders on corporate strategy, financing, and M&A. His banking experience spans across firms like Lazard, SG Cowen, Houlihan Lokey, Wedbush Securities, and QuantumWave Capital.

Ben is also a member of AAAI (Association for the Advancement of AI), and a frequent keynote speaker on innovation, technology investing, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence in the US, Europe, and Asia.

 

Thomas Birr, SVP Innovation & Business Transformation, innogy SE and CEO, innogy Innovation Hub

Thomas is SVP Innovation & Business Transformation at innogy SE and CEO of the innogy Innovation Hub. Innogy is a leading European utility which mission is to create a future beyond the traditional energy business. The innogy Innovation Hub is building and co-creating new digital and platform-powered business models in partnership with the world’s most promising start-ups. Thomas is a strong believer that AI will change every industry – including Energy.

Sebastian Niestrath, SVP Infrastructure Platform Ventures at innogy New Ventures LLC

Sebastian Niestrath is a venture capitalist with innogy New Ventures in Palo Alto, California – part of innogy, one of Europe’s leading electric utilities. During his 12 years in the energy industry, Sebastian has gained extensive experience across the entire energy value chain, his area of expertise is energy markets and energy trading. Sebastian is passionate about working closely with startups that build the digital and decarbonized energy system of the future.

Michael Wara, Director, Climate and Energy Policy Program, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University

Michael Wara is Director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at the Woods Institute for the Environment and research fellow at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance at Stanford.

Wara’s legal and policy scholarship focuses on carbon pricing, energy innovation, and regulated industries. He collaborates with economists, engineers, and scientists in research on the design and evaluation of technical and regulatory solutions to climate and energy challenges. He is also an expert on international environmental law with a particular focus on the ozone and climate treaty regimes.
Wara received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his Ph.D. in Ocean Sciences from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Prateek Chakravarty, Head of Worldwide Sales, Bidgely

Prateek leads worldwide sales efforts at Bidgely, a software company bringing AI solutions to the modern utility and energy retailer.
Before Bidgely, Prateek worked in leadership roles at Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Schlumberger. He holds a Bachelor of Technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard Business School.


The innogy Innovation Hub is the Accelerator and Venture Capital arm of innogy SE, Germany’s leading energy company.

innogy SE is Germany’s leading energy company, with revenue of around €44 billion (2016), more than 40,000 employees and activities in 16 countries across Europe. With its three business segments Grid & Infrastructure, Retail and Renewables, innogy addresses the requirements of a modern, decarbonized, decentralized and digital energy world.

Founded in 2008, BootstrapLabs is a leading Venture Capital firm based in Silicon Valley and focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence. We invest in founders that dream big and are solving today’s hardest problem by applying artificial intelligence to shape a better future.

We are pleased to announce that the annual BootstrapLabs Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference will return for the fourth year on April 18, 2019 in downtown San Francisco.

The BootstrapLabs Applied AI Conference 2019 is a must-attend event for those involved or interested in the most current AI technologies and products.

The one day conference brings together the brightest and most experienced professionals in the field of AI for an immersive day of learning, discussion, and connection. This year’s agenda will focus on the latest trends and the future impact of AI applications and commercialization across a breadth of sectors, including Transportation, Logistics, Health, Energy, FinTech, the Future of Work (FoW), Internet of Things (IoT), and Cybersecurity.

A limited number of tickets are currently on sale at the Super Early Bird price ($1200 off)! Join thought leaders leveraging AI applications to build the future of enterprise, corporations, governments, and society as we know it. Register and learn more at this link.

https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/10/AAISS_Q4_Partnership_Yellow_SQ.jpg 1000 1000 Luigi Congedo https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/08/Bootstrap-website_white_logo.png Luigi Congedo2018-10-30 15:00:512019-09-29 16:03:56BootstrapLabs is pleased to announce our next Applied AI Insiders Series event: Artificial Intelligence & Energy
AI Policy, artificial intelligence

BootstrapLabs AAI18 – Panel Discussion – AI Policymakers: The Need for Public/Private Partnership

October 16, 2018/in AI, AI News, Blog /by

The topic of this panel focuses on the challenges of AI deployments and their inherent limitations. Panelists also highlight how to help policymakers learn about the complex ecosystem of technology so that they are able to make informed decisions for the public good.

Moderator:

Jane Macfarlane, CEO, Seurat Labs / Director – Smart Cities, UC Berkeley

Speakers:

Kay Firth-Butterfield, Head  of AI and Machine Learning, World Economic Forum

Norma Krayem, Sr. Policy Advisor and Co-Chair – Cybersecurity and Privacy, Holland & Knight

Raj Minhas, VP – Interaction and Analytics Lab, PARC

During this session, the panelists discussed AI in the context of regulation, the role of government in fostering and leveraging emerging technologies and the reasons why we need better public/private collaboration.

Some of the key takeaways from the session are:

  • Fostering and creating explainable models is going to be crucial in for receiving government support and for fostering collaboration in the AI space.
  • Standards, certification, protocols, partnerships and process or outcome based scalable laws are some of the avenues we need to explore to “regulate” AI.
  • Open, honest conversations are necessary between technology companies and regulators, it’s important to educate them on how the technology works and the real risks of integrating to different systems.

About BootstrapLabs Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference: 

The BootstrapLabs Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference is a yearly conference organized by BootstrapLabs, a leading Venture Capital firm focused on Applied AI. The annual event brings together over 800 members of the Artificial Intelligence community for a day of incredible speakers and exciting conversations. The community is comprised of founders and executives who are experts in the field of Applied Artificial Intelligence, veteran technologists leading the world’s most innovative organizations, and key partners in the AI ecosystem sharing deep-domain knowledge within specific verticals.

If you would like to attend the BootstrapLabs Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference 2019, get your tickets now!

WANT TO JOIN US AT THE NEXT AI EVENT?

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Nicolai Wadstrom, UnConference, Berlin

BootstrapLabs Joins innogy Innovation Hub at UnConference

October 10, 2018/in AI, AI News, Blog, BootstrapLabs, Event, Nicolai Wadstrom /by

Berlin, Germany – October 4, 2018 – Nicolai Wadstrom, BootstrapLabs Founder, CEO and Managing Partner, was recently invited by innogy Innovation Hub to participate in the fourth annual “UnConference” as a panelist to discuss digital disruption, Applied Artificial Intelligence, and the impact of technology on the Energy space.

Nicolai Wadstrom, UnConference, Berlin

During the Disruption Platform session moderated by Thomas Birr, SVP of Innovation & Business Transformation at innogy and CEO of innogy Innovation Hub, Nicolai and Tim Kock, Co-Founder at Jungle AI, weighed in on the challenges and opportunities presented by emerging technologies and their potential impact on the decentralized energy system of the future.

“Algorithms are only 10-15% of the AI challenge. The big issue is data collection and processing.” #AI panel at @innogy_innohub #unconference pic.twitter.com/UpaqwIaSHc

— OWN.space (@ownHQ) October 4, 2018

As leaders in the AI space, both Nicolai and Tim were asked to speak about why the unique combination of AI + Energy is so interesting, as well as subtechnologies that have the most potential to disrupt the traditional energy industry.

“Utilities that don’t figure out #AI simply won’t survive and they won’t be allowed to operate by governments” says @bootstraplabs @nicolaiwadstrom on digital #disruption at #UnConference pic.twitter.com/HIREozu01a

— Innovation Hub (@innogy_innohub) October 4, 2018

UnConference by innogy Innovation Hub provides a platform for innovators, startups, VCs, thought leaders, and experts to come together and jointly create the future of energy.

 

WANT TO JOIN US AT THE NEXT AI EVENT?

Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates – subscribe here.

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innogy, Thomas Birr, Nicolai Wadstrom, BootdtrapLabs

innogy Innovation Hub and BootstrapLabs to form a Partnership for Investments in AI and Energy

October 3, 2018/in AI, AI News, artificial intelligence, Ben Levy, Blog, Energy, News, Venture Capital /by Benjamin Levy

innogy, Thomas Birr, Nicolai Wadstrom, BootdtrapLabs

We are proud to announce our partnership with innogy New Ventures LLC, part of the innogy Innovation Hub and an affiliate of innogy SE, a leading German energy company and the third largest utility in Europe with annual revenues of €43 billion (2017).

The Energy sector is often overlooked by technology-focused investors that deem it too complex, slow, and concentrated. At BootstrapLabs, we understand that Energy, and its supply-chain infrastructure, is powering our modern way of life, including all the technology that we have come to love and rely upon each and every day. Not having a safe, secure and always available source of electricity is not an option and we need to put our best minds on the problems facing utilities, if we are to solve some of their major challenges in time.

innogy Innovation Hub and BootstrapLabs share a common vision that AI will be a key pillar to ensure that utilities successfully transition into the future. As part of our long-term strategic relationship, innogy New Ventures will invest an initial sum of $5 million in BootstrapLabs’ Applied AI Funds, and together we will coordinate globally to build the largest artificial intelligence community for energy ecosystems, and provide a combination of capital and support to Applied AI startups that reimagine the future of energy production, distribution and management across decentralized and interconnected energy services for consumers, machines, enterprises, and public sector agencies.

“As a venture capital firm focused on Applied AI, we believe that the advances made from deep learning and machine learning algorithms will revolutionize both the demand and supply side of the energy economy. With about 22 million customers and activities in 15 countries, innogy is the perfect partner to help us validate use cases quickly and scale our venture investments globally,” said Nicolai Wadstrom, Founder and Managing Partner of BootstrapLabs.

To read the full press release visit the full press release.

https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/10/Header_AI_Conference.jpg 1367 2048 Benjamin Levy https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/08/Bootstrap-website_white_logo.png Benjamin Levy2018-10-03 07:01:362018-10-03 09:11:37innogy Innovation Hub and BootstrapLabs to form a Partnership for Investments in AI and Energy

BootstrapLabs AAI18 Keynote and Fireside Chat – How AI Shapes the Future of Our Energy System

October 2, 2018/in AI, artificial intelligence, Blog, BootstrapLabs /by

The energy systems of the future will be too complex to be managed by people and this is precisely where AI comes in.

In this Keynote and Fireside Chat, Thomas Birr, Stephen Comello, and Nicolai Wadstrom discuss the impact of Artificial Intelligence on energy systems by activating AI and powering the electrical grids of the future, AI will help to make energy safer, more reliable, and customer service oriented.

Speakers:

  • Thomas Birr, SVP Innovation & Business Transformation, innogy and CEO, innogy Innovation Hub
  • Stephen Comello, Director, Sustainable Energy Initiative, Stanford
  • Nicolai Wadstrom, Founder and CEO, BootstrapLabs

During this session, the speakers discussed the future of our energy system, how production and usage will evolve over time, and how we will leverage AI to manage, predict, and optimize energy.

Some of the key takeaways from the session are:

  • The energy systems of the future will be too complex to be managed by people and this is precisely where AI comes in.
  • By leveraging customer habit data with AI and algorithms, the grid will be able to optimize when/where/how to distribute energy.
  • The future of the grid lies in micro dimension, with multiple micro-grids and connected devices that will self-optimize and make economic decisions without human interaction.

About Thomas Birr:
Thomas is the SVP of Innovation & Business Transformation at innogy SE and CEO of the innogy Innovation Hub, a leading European utility whose mission is to create a future beyond the traditional energy business. He leads innogy’s Innovation Hub, which is now building and co-creating new digital and platform-powered business models in partnership with the world’s most promising start-ups. Thomas is a strong believer that AI will change every industry – including Energy.

About Stephen Comello:
Dr. Comello is the director of the Sustainable Energy Initiative at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a founding member of the Bits & Watts Initiative within Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy. His work examines the organization of innovation and how technology and policy co-evolve to influence the economic attractiveness of advanced energy solutions.

About Nicolai Wadstrom:
Nicolai is the Founder and CEO of BootstrapLabs, a leading Venture Capital firm based in Silicon Valley and focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence. Throughout his career he has been very focused on product and technology development within Machine Learning, Big Data, Analytics, Internet, Mobile and Software/Cloud sectors. Prior to BootstrapLabs he was a multiple-time startup CEO and CTO. He has raised capital from Angels, Private Equity, Investment Banks and VC’s. Nicolai is a frequent guest speaker, mentor and judge at Universities and Conferences in the US and Europe.

About BootstrapLabs Applied AI Conference: 

The BootstrapLabs Applied AI Conference is a yearly conference organized by BootstrapLabs, a leading Venture Capital firm focused on Applied AI. The annual event brings together over 800 members of the Artificial Intelligence community for a day of incredible speakers and exciting conversations. The community is comprised of founders and executives who are experts in the field of Applied Artificial Intelligence, veteran technologists leading the world’s most innovative organizations, and key partners in the AI ecosystem sharing deep-domain knowledge within specific verticals.

If you would like to attend the BootstrapLabs Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference 2019, tickets are now available!

REGISTER NOW
https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/06/thomas_birr_video_slide.001.jpeg 1080 1920 https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/08/Bootstrap-website_white_logo.png 2018-10-02 16:21:562019-09-29 16:03:56BootstrapLabs AAI18 Keynote and Fireside Chat - How AI Shapes the Future of Our Energy System

BootstrapLabs Presents at US Navy’s HACKtheMACHINE

September 29, 2018/in AI, AI News, artificial intelligence, Blog, Event, Silicon Valley /by

Seattle, Washington – September 22, 2018 – Ben Levy, Co-Founder of BootstrapLabs was recently invited to present on the state of Applied Artificial Intelligence at HACKtheMACHINE, which was hosted by the Naval Sea Systems Command.

During his keynote, Ben spoke about the State of AI Technology and Tools, where he highlighted why advances in Applied AI are happening now and the impending impacts, opportunities, and challenges that lie ahead for businesses and technologists.

 

Interesting discussion around international relations, technology and AI ethics with #google #HACktheMACHINE pic.twitter.com/wvi8636dUq

— ArcBlock (@ArcBlock_io) September 22, 2018

 

Ben also shared insights about current investment trends, data projections, and industry milestones that will help carve a path for those hoping to leverage AI’s transformative power.

Ben Levy, Co-Founder, BootstrapLabs, Artificial Intelligence, U.S Navy, HACKtheMACHINE

The discussion on Applied AI, which was part of the Designers Executive schedule, also included presentations by Mr. Kumar Venkateswar, Product Team Lead at Amazon SageMaker and Mr. Andrew Kim, Public Policy and Government Affairs at Google AI.

HACKtheMACHINE is the US Navy’s premiere digital experience for building a community of practice in maritime security.

WANT TO JOIN US AT THE NEXT BOOTSTRAPLABS APPLIED AI EVENT?

Sign up for our newsletter list to receive updates, subscribe here.

 

https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/09/IMG_9890-e1538245810270.jpg 3024 4032 https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/08/Bootstrap-website_white_logo.png 2018-09-29 11:57:202018-09-29 12:02:11BootstrapLabs Presents at US Navy’s HACKtheMACHINE
Luigi Congedo, Applied AI, Venture Capital, Italy, San Francisco, Silicon Valley

Forbes 30 Under 30: Luigi Congedo

September 10, 2018/in AI, AI News, artificial intelligence, Blog, News /by

Luigi Congedo, BootstrapLabs, Venture Capital, Forbes, 30 under 30We are pleased to announce that Luigi Congedo, Principal at BootstrapLabs, has been included in Forbes 2018 list of 30 Under 30 for his contributions to Technology & Venture Capital. In the past four years at BootstrapLabs, Luigi has connected with thousands of start ups in both Silicon Valley, Italy and the world and has focused his work primarily on investments within the Applied Artificial Intelligence space.

At 29, Luigi has proven to be passionate and driven in a space lead by innovators who are changing the world. Luigi shares, “The last few years have been a wonderful experience for me. I have learned so much in Silicon Valley and hope that my work continues to reflect my commitment to excel here.”

 

 

https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/09/LuigiForbes2.jpg 800 1200 https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/08/Bootstrap-website_white_logo.png 2018-09-10 15:49:232018-10-03 05:56:49Forbes 30 Under 30: Luigi Congedo

BootstrapLabs AAI18 Panel – Industrial and Manufacturing AI Applications

September 4, 2018/in AI, artificial intelligence, Blog, BootstrapLabs /by

Human assisted AI is changing industrial and manufacturing – what are the applications and use cases we should pay attention to?

In this panel conversation at BootstrapLabs Applied AI Conference, Macario Namie discusses Industry 4.0 with leaders from GE, Kespry, Indus.ai and Foghorn Systems. Discover how AI and human assisted autonomy provide better utility in manufacturing and industrial work flows and why its important.  Learn about new processes in construction, insurance, mining, and off-shore oil drilling that leverage AI and have the potential to lower costs and increase revenue.

Moderator: Macario Namie, Head of IoT Strategy, Cisco

Speakers:

  • Karen Kerr, Executive Managing Director, GE Ventures
  • George Matthew, CEO, Kespry
  • Matt Man, Founder, Indus.ai
  • Ramya Ravichandar, Director Product Management, FogHorn Systems Inc

During this session, the panelists discussed AI in manufacturing and industrial applications, the need to combine domain expertise with algorithms, and getting actionable insights from your data in real time.

Some of the key takeaways from the session are:

  • For AI to deliver value in industrial applications you really need to have domain expertise and understand the particular workflows of the industry you’re serving.
  • Clients in the industrial space aren’t looking to replace the human component, they’re looking for human-assisted solutions that will augment people with AI.
  • You need to demonstrate how technology will translate into ROI. These companies have been burned in the past by following a technology fad, so you need to show how AI can have an operational impact today.

About Macario Namie:
Macario Namie joined Jasper in 2007 and – after Cisco’s acquisition of Jasper in 2016 – now leads IoT strategy efforts, including ecosystem development, for Cisco. Prior to this role, Macario spent 8 years leading marketing for Jasper, responsible for product marketing, corporate marketing, field marketing, and demand generation. Macario brings nearly 20 years in marketing Software-as-a-Service enterprise applications. Prior to Jasper, Macario led Worldwide Product Marketing at WebEx, where he was responsible for solution definition and execution of go-to-market plans for the entire WebEx product portfolio. Macario also held senior roles at ePeople and Lycos and holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

About Karen Kerr:
Karen Kerr leads a team focused on making investments and partnerships in the advanced manufacturing ecosystem. Karen comes to GE with two decades of experience in developing technology based businesses and venture investing. Previously she served as Senior Director of New Ventures and Alliances at the University of Southern California (USC) Stevens Center for Innovation. Before joining USC, Karen led business development at Intellectual Ventures, was Managing Director at ARCH Venture Partners, and founded Agile Equities LLC. Karen was named one of LA’s Top Innovators in 2012 by C Suite Quarterly, selected to C200 leading business women in 2004, and selected by Crain’s Chicago Business for its 40 under 40 list of leading business professionals in Chicago. Karen earned a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago and an AB in Chemistry from Bryn Mawr College.

About George Matthew:
George Mathew is the CEO & Chairman of Kespry, the leading aerial intelligence platform
provider. At Kespry, he focuses on leading the company’s mission to transform how people and businesses capture, use and get value from worksite intelligence. Prior to Kespry, George held senior leadership positions at Alteryx, salesforce.com and SAP. He holds a BS in Neurobiology from Cornell University and an MBA from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar.

About: Matt Man
Matt Man is the founder of indus.ai, a video analytics and big data product for construction sites. In Matt’s previous life he founded a mobile application development firm GreenOwl Mobile which deployed 45+ smart city apps across 5 countries. He is an experienced SaaS founder who understands the enterprise B2B market. He holds a Masters in Engineering from Stanford, and BASc in Engineer Science from the University of Toronto. He started experimenting with AI during his undergraduate years, where he coded his first neural network to translate sign language.

About Ramya Ravichandar
Ramya heads Product Management at FogHorn. She is seasoned leader in emerging markets, with a track record of creating value. She brings a rare combination of technical expertise in real time analytics, machine learning, AI, and valuable experience in Industrial IOT. Ramya has a PhD in Computer Science from Virginia Tech.

About BootstrapLabs Applied AI Conference and Community: 

The BootstrapLabs Applied AI Conference 2018 is a yearly conference organized by BootstrapLabs, a leading Venture Capital firm focused on Applied AI. The annual event brings together over 800 members of the Artificial Intelligence community for a day of incredible speakers and exciting conversations. The community is comprised of founders and executives who are experts in the field of applied artificial intelligence, veteran technologists leading the world’s most innovative organizations and key partners in the AI ecosphere sharing deep-domain knowledge within specific verticals.

Over the next several weeks we’ll be releasing the videos from the sessions from the BootstrapLabs Applied AI Conference 2018. The yearly conference organized by BootstrapLabs, a leading Venture Capital firm focused on Applied AI, that brings together over 800 members of the Artificial Intelligence community for a day of incredible speakers and exciting conversations.

https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/06/industrial_panel_video_slide.001.jpeg 1080 1920 https://bootstraplabs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/08/Bootstrap-website_white_logo.png 2018-09-04 12:37:042018-09-04 22:31:08BootstrapLabs AAI18 Panel - Industrial and Manufacturing AI Applications
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