Fintech Disruption 2022, The Great Resignation, Pinecone brings Search into the AI Age and Enterprise Value for AI still a Struggle for most CEOs

Fintech disruption continues in 2022 and startups in the Fintech space are changing the concept of business finance through digital product innovation and analytics. Digits and Oxygen are some Fintech startups1 redefining the business finance industry with their current growth plans around customer experience, streamlined transactions and fraud detection capabilities using machine learning.

Everybody is talking about the Great Resignation nowadays with the latest jobs report showing a changing workforce in the post COVID era. Remote work and in person experiences are both good but still, employers are facing challenges transitioning to the hybrid model with technology hitches among the most pressing problems including outdated systems and remote collaboration problems.?

The metaverse is gradually making its way in the digital world and the entertainment industry is leveraging virtual and augmented reality to create experiences for event goers including live streaming and NFTs2 which are changing rights management. Social tokens are now becoming common with block chain, crypto currency and decentralized ledgers widely adopted. The entertainment industry is using virtual reality to prepare for a metaverse future characterized by interaction between physical and digital worlds.

Pinecone is expanding vector search with the company announcing recent funding rounds to facilitate growth plans with their AI powered database. A recent guest on the HumAIn Podcast, Pinecone CEO, Edo Liberty is spearheading simplified database searches and fast moving applications with their Pinecone vector database technology.?

Becoming data driven is hard work and organizations need to up their game around defining their AI vision, implementing data culture and using in house talent to leverage digital transformation. At the same time, building scalable and intelligent AI platforms is another area companies struggle with and requires a mindset shift in their view and execution of technology.???

These and more on our AI newsletter

Fintech Disruption 2022

Fintech is one exciting industry that has seen growth over the last couple of years and since 2020 and 2021, the growth has been accelerating. Startups in the Fintech sector continue to flourish including Oxygen and Digits to name a few and are disrupting the business finance sectors.?

I had the pleasure to interview Ivy Lu, Chief data scientist at Oxygen on the HumAIn Podcast where she explored Oxygen’s work on fraud detection3 and prevention using machine learning. According to Ivy, the Fintech industry is ripe for growth with customer growth increasing alongside venture funding.

Digits is another startup making headlines in Fintech with their Living Model Technology that leverages statistical analysis to provide visual business insights. The real time dashboard for Digits is enabling financial institutions to understand their operations in real time. Digits is valued around $565M and with recent funding rounds, Digits is projecting more innovations around customer experience and intelligent applications.?

The Great Resignation and Jobs Report

The pandemic changed the workplace for good and the hybrid trend is growing in 2022 with companies alternating in person and remote roles. However, there have been challenges in transitioning to the hybrid model according to the Adobe survey, which found over 4 million employees quitting their jobs despite companies offering more positions. Technology hitches and lack of tech savvy managers? among organizations emerged as the top concern with employees feeling disgruntled in the process.

Gen Z particularly shows major shifts with an estimated 25% planning to leave their jobs in the next 2 quarters. Enterprise executives alongside small and medium sized business managers also experienced increased resignations with employees venturing out in new industries and others going the freelance way. The return to office policy and corporate culture are other problems mentioned in the report and offer a glimpse of the current job market which requires employers to upgrade technology and encourage a culture of learning and collaboration in their organizations.

NFTs, Metaverse and Block Chain foray in Entertainment Industry??

The NFTs and metaverse wave is shaping the entertainment industry in 2022 as entertainment companies utilize virtual reality and augmented reality to drive customer experiences. Digital product innovation using technology is a key component in the new world of streaming, devices and remote connections as entertainment companies look to drive customer engagement.

NFTs are changing the game for music artists including royalties and rights management with block chain, cryptocurrency and social tokens? changing the virtual world. Live events and movie theaters faced challenges during the pandemic but under the current normal, entertainment companies are innovating through streaming options such as in person and remote viewing.?

Enterprise Value for AI still a Struggle for most CEOs

The data driven model debate has been around for some time but companies still lack education on implementing technologies to drive growth and become part of the current digital transformation. Despite efforts by the C-suite to make sense of data and AI initiatives, the transition to this digital first model is slowing down according to a report by Accenture with companies facing challenges evangelizing AI technology and a data culture.

Business leaders interviewed in this Accenture report expressed concerns about lack of commitment by stakeholders in organizations including the C-suite and employees to embrace technology in their culture. Championing AI vision?, cloud integration of intelligent data platforms and talent problems are some challenges facing companies as they strive to become data driven according to the report. The solution? Organizations need to champion AI literacy and a data culture by involving employees at every step of the way with support from chief data officers and the C-suite.?

Pinecone brings Search into the AI Age

Pinecone has raised $28M in series A funding to fill the growing demand for recommendations and search results powered by artificial intelligence. According to CEO, Edo Liberty, Pinecone is the future of vector search and is enabling developers to build vector search applications without infrastructure pain points and at any scale.

From single stage filtering, NLP for semantic search? and scalability improvements, Pinecone is pushing the boundaries of search through their AI powered database. The vector database trend is increasingly gaining traction because of fast moving applications and index updating features powering the next generation search capabilities. With backing from top VC firms including Menlo Ventures, Tiger Global and Wing Venture Capital, Pinecone? is accelerating semantic search recommenders and applications that depend on relevant information retrieval.?

Works Cited?

1Fintech Startups, 2NFTs, 3Fraud Detection, ?Tech Savvy Managers, ?Cryptocurrency and Social Tokens, ?Championing AI Vision, ?NLP for Semantic Search, ?Pinecone