Throw a stone into Europe’s startup ecosystem and you’re likely to hit a company that says it’s using AI.
But while many of these founders are still deep in the R&D stage of building their models, some have sped ahead to deploy their AI solutions in industries — and are having an impact already.
Here’s how these practical-right-now startups are disrupting the sectors they’re focused on and the benefits to getting ahead of the game.
“Boring AI”
While swanky AI models like image generation or large language models (LLMs) often attract the bulk of hype and headlines, the companies deploying AI right now are often focused on more unassuming problems, says Andreas Weiskam, partner and cofounder of VC firm Sapphire Ventures.
I also think horizontal categories such as sales or customer support will gain a lot of value from AI.
“One of my partners actually called it ‘boring AI’: it’s often not the out there, flashy things, but the super mundane tasks [like document processing] where you typically have large centres outsourced in cheaper labour countries. That is something where AI [can] actually yield return on investment today,” Weiskam says.
One such startup is Paris-based Nabla, which recently featured in the Sifted Rising 100 ranking highlighting the most promising B2B SaaS startups across Europe. Nabla offers an ambient AI assistant that transcribes the interactions between clinicians and patients and automatically generates clinical notes and updates patient’s records.
“Rather than replacing clinicians, our product streamlines the administrative tasks that consume their valuable time by cutting the time clinicians spend on paperwork by 50%,” says cofounder and CEO Alexandre Lebrun.
Beata Klein, principal at VC firm Creandum, says that while many of the markets which are deploying AI right now are those which lack in-house capabilities such as law or healthcare, she thinks as the sector progresses, startups will target a broader demographic.
“In the beginning of the AI wave, it was all about vertical software [and the] legacy industries that are underserved by AI. But I also think horizontal categories such as sales or customer support will gain a lot of value from AI,” she says.
The core of industries
Weiskam says the biggest value for a company in leveraging AI is going to come when it’s at the core of what a company does.
But it’s not always so simple. There are several challenges of getting to that core, Weiskam highlights, including companies having the infrastructure for adoption, management teams being ready for change and having talent with the skills to operate and maintain the software.
Despite these challenges, some startups are already cutting through to the centre of industries. This includes Orbem — which also featured in the Sifted 100 list — a Munich-based startup that offers AI-powered imaging solutions for animal sample classification and analytics. It is currently sorting male chicks from female chicks to prevent the culling of male chicks in the poultry industry.
“We chose the poultry industry because it offers a tremendous opportunity to champion sustainability and enhance animal welfare,” says Orbem’s CEO and cofounder Pedro Gómez. “With precise sorting, we are feeding the world by preventing the waste of over 10 billion unfertilised eggs and avoiding the culling of seven billion male chicks each year.”
Ahead of the game
There are also market advantages to getting an AI model into industries sooner rather than later, says Gómez.
Healthcare go-to-market is notoriously difficult and requires innovative strategies.
“Deploying earlier meant more — and direct — customer feedback, steeper learning curves and first-mover advantages in a concentrated market,” he says. “This allowed us to earn the trust of our customers and deploy our AI technology in France, Germany, the Netherlands and soon in Norway.”
Having an AI model that can be deployed today has also helped Nabla tackle a tough market.
“Healthcare go-to-market is notoriously difficult and requires innovative strategies. We chose to deploy our solution early to adopt a product-led growth strategy,” says Lebrun. “Physicians can start using Nabla for free and discover our solution independently, bypassing traditional sales channels.”
It also helps with developing the product based on the needs of real customers. “We continuously refine and enhance our solution based on clinicians’ feedback and real-world challenges,’ he adds.
With customer feedback and data under their belts, both Nabla and Orbem can now look ahead to the future development of the company — and consider what is next in the crosshairs for expansion.
“Our next milestone is to expand our impact beyond poultry, creating business solutions that champion environmental stewardship in new domains such as agribusiness or aquaculture,” says Gómez.
While Lebrun says that Nabla’s goals reflect how AI in healthcare is set to evolve as the tech matures.
“The development of AI in healthcare is unfolding in two distinct phases. In phase one, where we currently stand, AI and copilots like Nabla integrate into existing workflows, enhancing processes without disrupting the system. But I think this phase only represents the tip of the iceberg of AI’s potential,” he says.
“AI will become the cornerstone of a new way of delivering care, moving beyond mere enhancements to fundamentally reinvent healthcare. Currently, we are in the ‘pre-iPhone phase’ of AI in healthcare — on the cusp of a revolution that will see AI shift from being an add-on to becoming the very core of clinical workflows, unlocking possibilities that are still waiting to be discovered.”
Discover the B2B SaaS Rising 100 full list here and download the report here.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/boring-ai-startups-having-an-impact-brnd/
