Category: General
Seattle: An Overlooked AI Hub in the New Tech Economy?
Seattle’s tech leaders claim their city is a hub for AI innovation, but recent assessments of promising AI startups paint a different picture:
- Forbes’ AI 50 list did not feature any Seattle startups, leading to an Axios headline stating, “AI boom’s primary beneficiaries reside in just four states,” with Washington notably absent.
- Bloomberg’s article highlighting “10 AI Companies to Watch Right Now” did not include any Seattle-based companies.
- Insider’s “34 most promising AI startups of 2023” featured only one from Seattle.
- In the latest Y Combinator cohort, only three out of 138 AI-related startups originated from Seattle.
While there were two Seattle companies on the IVP Enterprise AI 55 list, they were overshadowed by Bay Area competitors.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff proclaimed, “San Francisco & California serve as the headquarters for AI companies and the talent pool,” referencing the IVP list.
Seattle’s modest presence and limited recognition beyond its borders could hinder its ability to attract leading entrepreneurs and AI executives. This poses potential challenges as the AI industry, fueled by advancements in generative AI, is expected to yield trillions of dollars in economic impact.
Matt McIlwain, managing director at Seattle VC firm Madrona, emphasized that Seattle should be considered “one of the premier centers of excellence for AI.” However, he acknowledged, “sometimes we are too understated.”
Perhaps the city’s AI innovators are quietly at work in Seattle, a place not known for self-promotion.
Ultimately, the perception of Seattle as an AI hub could play a pivotal role in attracting AI talent and bolstering the city’s innovation ecosystem. As Kirby Winfield, founding general partner at Seattle venture firm Ascend.vc, noted, “Perception certainly matters in attracting talent and other resources to a region.”
Heather Redman, managing partner at Seattle VC firm Flying Fish, urged the city to address its underselling of its AI capabilities and prioritize collaborations between the tech and non-tech sectors. She emphasized the transformative potential of AI across various industries and aspects of society.
Seattle’s AI clout
Many acknowledge that Silicon Valley serves as the focal point for AI startups.
According to PitchBook, AI and machine learning companies based in San Francisco raised an impressive $12.8 billion across 219 deals through August, putting their performance in a league of its own. In contrast, Seattle-based AI and machine learning firms secured a modest $170 million in funding across 24 deals during the same period.
Nevertheless, Seattle claims the second spot nationally in terms of AI talent density, a metric that gauges the number of professionals specializing in AI, according to data from SeekOut, a Seattle-based recruiting platform.
Vivek Ramaswami, a partner at Madrona in San Francisco, commented, “Ultimately, what matters most for these startups is the ability to attract exceptional talent and deliver outstanding products. I believe that Seattle stands out among most other cities outside of the Bay Area in this regard.”
Seattle boasts an impressive tech landscape, with cloud computing giants Microsoft and Amazon headquartered in the region, offering vital tools and services that drive AI and machine learning applications. Griffin noted, “The investments made by these two companies in AI are massive by any standard.”
In addition to Microsoft and Amazon, Meta, Google, and Apple maintain substantial engineering centers in the Seattle area, employing thousands of top AI researchers and engineers.
Seattle’s allure extends to academia, attracting prominent AI researchers to the University of Washington’s computer science school and the Allen Institute for AI (AI2). Notably, the AI2 Incubator, which recently secured $30 million for its latest fund, has spawned over 20 AI startups, some of which were later acquired by tech giants like Apple and Baidu.
Seattle’s AI community also received recognition on Time’s recent list of 100 leading AI influencers, with seven individuals linked to the city, including Microsoft’s Kalika Bali, Kate Crawford, Kevin Scott, and Jaime Teevan, sci-fi author Ted Chiang, and UW professors Emily Bender and Yejin Choi.
Ed Lazowska, a longtime computer science professor at the University of Washington, proudly declared, “We are unquestionably an AI hub, particularly if we define it by ‘AI expertise’ rather than just ‘buzzworthy startups’.”
Seattle boasts a thriving AI startup scene, with a multitude of rapidly expanding ventures making their mark. Notable inclusions in this burgeoning landscape, as highlighted in lists such as NFX’s AI Hot 75 and the IA40, encompass a diverse array of innovators:
- Lexion, a legal tech startup.
- WellSaid Labs, specializing in speech recognition technology.
- Xembly, a company pioneering the concept of AI ‘chief of staff.’
- Fixie, a trailblazing large language model startup.
- OctoML, a forward-thinking machine learning enterprise.
- CLIPr, a cutting-edge video analysis platform.
Moreover, Seattle’s AI-focused startups extend beyond these select few, with the GeekWire 200 ranking providing additional insights into the region’s vibrant private sector:
- Icertis
- Highspot
- Textio
- Defined.AI
- WhyLabs
In the summer months, several Seattle-area AI startups, including A-Alpha Bio, DropZone AI, and Protect AI, secured substantial capital investments, further fueling the city’s AI innovation ecosystem.
Ramaswami, an advocate for Seattle’s AI prominence, emphasized that the city’s continued elevation as an ‘AI hub’ hinges on both startups and established companies expanding, making astute hires, and delivering top-tier AI products to the market.
McIlwain stressed the importance of effective storytelling for industry giants like Amazon, asserting that it’s crucial for everyone to actively share and amplify Seattle’s compelling AI narrative.
LSIGraph Launches New Contextual Terms Feature For Improved Content Optimization
With its latest update, LSIGraph encourages its users to add contextual terms for improved SEO content, allowing higher search engine rankings and traffic growth.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – November 16, 2022
In its determined effort to help its users climb search rankings and grow traffic, LSIGraph launches a new update on its flagship SEO keyword research tool. This update adds a new feature to its Content Writer tool called the “Contextual Terms”.
This newly added feature to their Content Writer Tool suggests a list of Contextual Terms that its user can add to their content to increase its contextual relevance. It also tells them the optimal usage frequency of a contextual term to further optimize their content. Additionally, the innovational feature shows its users examples of use from other top-ranking pages for more insight into its usage.
The need for this new update arose from the team’s own research into Google’s never-ending ranking factors and what would help the most in creating the best SEO content. With their research showing better SERP ranking results by building content context, LSIGraph adds this feature to help its users better optimize their content.
In order to suggest contextual terms to its users, LSIGraph looks at top-ranking pages of a target keyword and extracts the commonly used and most impactful words. By using more contextual terms in their content, writers can build more context and attract more relevant traffic.
“Our studies show that producing contextually-sound content boosts a website’s ranking on search engines and drives relevant traffic,” says Andy, the founder of LSIGraph. “We will continuously perform research and hope to roll out more updates to help our users maximize their content’s ranking potential.”
For more information on LSIGraph’s current and future updates, readers can check out their announcement page here.
About LSIGraph
LSIGraph is an SEO tool with a mission to help its users climb search engine rankings and grow their traffic. This tool focuses on three areas of SEO success: keyword targeting, content writing and optimization, and content mapping. The three main tools guide a user throughout the whole process of producing highly-optimized content, from keyword research to content writing and content planning.
Today, LSIGraph continues to pave its way to the top of SEO tools, with more than 160,000 subscribers utilizing it for their SEO marketing strategies. With different subscription plans available, LSIGraph strives to match every marketer’s different needs. For more information, readers can take a look at their pricing plans.
Contact Info:
Name: Sara Saila
Email: hello@lsigraph.com
Organization: LSIGraph
Website: https://lsigraph.com
EXA Global Unlocks New Hyper-Reality Experience in Malaysia at SetiaWalk Outpost
EXA Global, under the umbrella of digital entertainment and technology company Havson Group is unveiling Malaysia’s first ever Hyper Reality Experience at Setiawalk EXA Outpost.
Referred by EXA Global as South-East Asia’s first ever Hyper-Reality Family Entertainment Center, players will be able to experience a fully immersive, wireless, free-roaming gaming experience at EXA Outpost. This is made possible thanks to the combination of highly advanced virtual reality technologies like untethered backpack setup and multi-user motion capture system employed by EXA Global.
Richard Lee, the CEO of EXA Global explained that engagement is core to the project designed by the team. The focus is to get players involved in the technology to become part of the story.
“Getting the right module, enhancing the formula, experience and content are key components when creating and building an immersive advanced technology to have people sharing their hyper-reality experience with others,” said Lee.
Richard Lee, the CEO of EXA Global
Upon its launching, EXA Outpost will be featuring an exclusive VR multiplayer sci-fi shooter and space exploration mission, named EXA Dimension 12. Imagine role-playing Starship Troopers or Mass Effect in a fully immersive space dimension, that’s what the EXA Dimension 12 is all about. In the mission, players known as Troopers will first be transported to the Ingress room, where they will receive their EXA gears (guns, backpacks, and other wearables) for the upcoming exploration. Once geared up, players will then be dispatched and transported to the Dimension 12, it is here that the players will ride along a thrilling storyline, receive instructions to investigate unexplored regions, and fight off vicious extra-dimensional monsters with a diversified profile of advanced weaponries.
“Being that part of the story for our players is important to us, as we know experience is something valuable we at EXA Global can offer,” said Lee.
EXA Dimension 12, being fully developed in-house by EXA Global, is a respectable feat demonstrated by the talents of the team. For EXA Global, being able to develop content in-house also means they are not reliant on 3rd party developers for their future VR content. This opens a door to a promising future for EXA Global as they are free to develop any content that falls inline with their business strategy. In fact, this advantageous edge can already be observed as EXA Global has already started working on additional VR contents that revolve around horror and kids-friendly themes to expand their content portfolio.
EXA Outpost houses spacious room to allow a free roaming VR experience.
Moving forward, the company notes that it is planning to open future locations around the world, targeting North America, Europe, Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Australia, and the neighboring countries surrounding Malaysia. Bigger flagship centers ranging from 10,000 square feet to football size venue will also be opened in future to house a bigger crowd, according to Lee.
Other than looking for rapid market expansion, the company is also looking to upgrade its VR hardware to further improve its hyper-reality experience. In the upcoming future, EXA Global will be developing a full body suit with haptic feedback that is mapped according to traditional Chinese acupuncture points to improve the surrealism of the game. Other wearables like VR gloves and augmented reality (AR) wristband will also be developed alongside the full body suit.
EXA gears in action.
Another noteworthy future expansion for EXA Global is the development of VR eSport. With the rise of eSport in recent years, it is also part of EXA Global’s strategy to tap into this trend and pioneer the VR eSport scene. To achieve this, offering player-vs-player (PvP) experience at its VR centers will be one of the upcoming focuses for EXA Global. Seeing the success of eSports giants like Dota 2 (offering a prize pool of whopping $20,770,460 USD for its tournament) and League of Legend (having an active monthly user base of 100 millions players), the potential of VR as the future mainstream eSport is definitely a huge one.
“As part of the creative and innovative pioneer in digital entertainment and technology Havson Group, between ourselves we aim to create the ultimate immersive Hyper-Reality Studio experience within this region,” said Lee.
Located at SetiaWalk, Puchong, EXA Outpost consists of two rooms whereby one is dedicated to the games while the other is a Hyper Reality Arcade Entertainment Center where players can play VR arcade games. Open for public starting from 3rd of June, for those who wants to take a deep dive into the hyper-reality experience, players can now book for a pair of ticket at a promotional pricing of RM65 on their official website: https://www.exa-global.com/booking.php
Suit Up, Experience The Game Changer Of Hyper-Reality Entertainment – EXA Global
Gear up, ladies and gentlemen! EXA GLOBAL – under the umbrella of digital entertainment and technology company Havson Group – is urgently recruiting soldiers for an immediate search and rescue mission of their fellow comrades missing in action while on an exploration to a foreign dimension, and they were hailing all new recruits to gather at the latest hyper-reality Family Entertainment Center (FEC) at SetiaWalk’s EXA Outpost, to be “transported” and save their comrades from danger at their recent launch.
The latest disruptive FEC to invade the gaming scene in Malaysia, EXA Outpost at SetiaWalk is a first-person, hyper-reality immersive experience that puts players right smack dab in the middle of a dimension exploration. EXA Outpost brags the rights to be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, being a quality full-service Hyper-Reality–FECs (Family Entertainment Centers) that will command the approval of the predominantly Malaysian community which it serve.
Mr. Richard Lee, CEO of EXA Global said that engagement is the core to every project being designed by the team – to get their players involved in the technology, to be a part of the story, and experience the game together as a team.
“EXA Outpost is a project of exploration; we invite friends and family to explore, to engage, to defend and return home with an experience where they can share with one another. The moment they book their tickets, we want them to experience the story together as a team,” said Mr. Lee during the launch of EXA Outpost recently.
“Getting the right module, enhancing the formula, experience and content are key components when creating and building an immersive advanced technology to have people sharing their hyper-reality experience with others. Being that part of the story for our players is important to us, as we know experience is something very valuable we at EXA Global can offer.”
A mixture of both physical and hyper-reality attractions that holds a fully immersive, wireless free roaming concept, the gaming content of EXA Outpost are created and developed solely by EXA Global themselves. A Sci-fi shooting game involving multi-players of four in a closed room, troopers will firstly be placed in EXA Outpost’s Ingress room for a briefing on their mission and safety conditions, where they will be suited up with the EXA Gear – player-wearable technology consisting of backpacks, guns, headset, batteries and charging system.
Players will then experience the real highlight of the dimension exploration along with the outer space atmosphere through their ANGKAS system, providing troopers with a more surreal and breathtaking experience. Players will immerse themselves in a surreal movie-like graphic story of being trained as new recruits equivalent to Starship Troopers in a graphically-enhanced Mission Room, receiving orders from a certain Commander Rick and dispatched to explore a foreign dimensional space that will leave players in awe and admire the ‘reality’ of an unexplored realm. Players are instructed to navigate the deep caves of the dimension and investigate the area, encouraging them to explore, engage and experience the whole story and the surreal atmosphere they are transported into, and work together as a team to conquer their mission when encountering large and vicious alien-like monsters.
Mr. Lee emphasized that its innovative facilities will have a positive impact within the Family Entertainment Centers both in Malaysia and on a global scale – having fully analysed and researched the market to effusively enhance the augmented reality solution for both gamers and non-gamers. He went on to add that there are more enhancements and developments to be made to allow their players visiting EXA Outpost have the full immersive experience in letting them feel what EXA Global wants them to feel.
“As part of the creative and innovative pioneer in digital entertainment and technology Havson Group, between ourselves we created the ultimate immersive Hyper-Reality Studio experience within this region.
“With great minds combined, we successfully developed a unique and distinctive system of high quality Hyper-Reality Entertainment Centers and create an exceptional yet incredible experience bringing hyper-reality to a new height,” said Mr. Lee.
Mr. Lee added that Team Building and Communication have always been the pillars embedded in EXA Global’s hyper-reality projects, as they truly believe that hyper-reality can bring people together and providing them that opportunity to let themselves go and immerse in communication to achieve a goal together.
“At EXA Outpost, the “wow” factor is something we want to evoke in people, as the stories we tell and the experience we give, is what each and every person will be bringing home and return for more, as such experience is always crucial in every project we do,” said Mr. Lee.
EXA Outpost also consists of two rooms: dedicated to the games and a Hyper-Reality Arcade Entertainment Centre where patrons can play VR arcade games.
For more information on how to book a session with EXA Outpost at SetiaWalk or the mission of Dimension 12, please visit www.exa-global.com, or follow us on www.facebook.com/EXAGlobal/.
Official Partners:
For further information kindly contact:
Eunice Wong, Senior Brand Manager
Mobile: +6012 2877 368 / 03 7865 7932
Email: eunice@slpr.com.my
Wantha Anatasya, Brand Executive
Mobile: +6018 2968 119 / 03 7865 7932
Email: wantha@slpr.com.my
Japan’s VR startup HoloEyes wins Tech Lab Paak awards on Recruit Holding’s Sixth Demo Day
Japan’s Recruit Holdings has held its annual Demo Day last month for the 6th batch of its startup accelerator Tech Lab Paak, a community space for IT members, located in Shibuya, Tokyo.
The facility is managed by Recruit’s R&D headquarters and acts as an incubator to support tenant startups which are classified into community and project members throughout the incubation process.
The classification is made in reference to the maturity of their developing services whereby the startups, after half a year, will have to present and exhibit their incubation outcome since they have moved in.
The Demo Day for the 6th batch was a big pitch event seeing the participation of 21 teams whereby six teams in the regular course and six teams in the virtual reality (VR) course made three-minute pitches presenting their incubation results since joining the program.
Additionally, the remaining nine teams were excluded from examination by judges though they were given the chance to make one-minute pitches which can be voted for the Audience Award.
Judges for the pitch competition included the CEO of Colopl Next – Shintaro Yamagami , the Director of LINE Business Strategy – Shinichiro Isago, the Startup Business Development Manager of Amazon Web Services in Japan – Hiroshi Hata, the Managing Partner of 500 Startups in Japan – Yohei Sawayama, and the Head of Media Technology Lab and Recruit Holdings – Yoichi Aso.
There were 7 prizes in total, that is the choice startup from each individual judge a Special Award as well as an Audience Award. In this event, HoloEyes, a startup aiming to make an information revolution in the medical field using VR has received the Tech Lab Paak award, winning a supplemental prize of pair meal ticket for a hotel dinner.
Founded by Naoji Taniguchi, an engineer and Maki Sugimoto, a surgeon and the Associate Professor of the International University of Health and Welfare Graduate School, HoloEyes is a technology that will help the medical world through the facilitation of medical information sharing of human bodies in the 3DVR form.
In this aspect, HoloEyes has constructed a medical VR database which through the accumulation of various CT scan data will be utilised to construct customised 3D human body models. For instance, if the criteria are the terms male, 60s, prostate cancer, 3D images of matched cases will be output. Then, doctors can utilize these 3D images for diagnosis references of similar cases or training upon surgical operations.
The firm expects a business model providing VR viewers for hospitals and selling collected data after obtaining patients’ consent to medical colleges or pharmaceutical companies.
On the other hand, winners also include MacroSpace which won the 500 Startups Award along with meal tickets worth 30,000 yen, Embody me by Paneo which won the Colopl Next Award and its supplemental prize of Apple store gift cards worth 30,000 yen, as well as Orario which won the LINE Award with a set of uncut boiled snow crab, and Oton Glass who won the AWS Award with 30,000 Amazon gift cards and a lunch ticket for Amazon cafeteria.
Additionally, a Special Award was also awarded to Psychic VR Lab for their STYLY project – a VR shopping platform focusing on fashion with its supplemental gift being a visit right for Microsoft Japan’s Technology Center led by its Director Madoka Sawa. Besides, the Audience Award accompanied by a supplemental prize of the membership of TECH LAB PAAK as a Project Member was given to Orario and Macrospace.