Mobile World Congress Day 1: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains … · 2017-02-28 · more...
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1 February 28, 2017 Deborah Weinswig, Managing Director, Fung Global Retail & Technology [email protected] US: 917.655.6790 HK: 852.6119.1779 CN: 86.186.1420.3016 Copyright © 2017 The Fung Group. All rights reserved. Mobile World Congress Day 1: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains and Chatbots Dominate the Conversation 1) This week, the Fung Global Retail & Technology team is in Barcelona attending the 2017 Mobile World Conference. 2) Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere at MWC: mobile operators, Telefónica and Softbank, talked about making big bets on AI, and Olay provided more insights on its AI-powered beauty application. 3) Blockchains and chatbots will drive some of the biggest changes in the years to come by redefining the rules of transactions and communication. 4) The successful e-commerce formula that has prevailed is the sum of content, community and marketplace: Houzz, Polyvore, TicTail. Mobile, the Next Element The opening keynote address of the 2017 Mobile World Congress featured CEOs from the world’s leading operators, including Masayoshi Son, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Softbank Group. During the keynote, they discussed the challenges and opportunities in the mobile industry, and shared insights into how the operator community can continue to play a central role in supporting global economic growth and social capital. Telefónica’s CEO, José María Álvarez-Pallete López, talked extensively about platforms as the model of businesses going forward. According to him, Telefónica is transitioning to a business that is made up of interconnected platforms. Currently, the company operates three platforms: its physical infrastructure, its product and services, and a third platform that incorporates its operations and IT infrastructure. Now, the company is about to launch a fourth platform, Aura—a smart layer on top of the other three platforms that will connect all information, interact with external data as part of a bigger ecosystem and serve as the company’s interface for the consumer. Aura will empower users with transparency and choice, which Pallete López believes is what the future of the industry will look like. Day 1
Transcript of Mobile World Congress Day 1: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains … · 2017-02-28 · more...
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February28,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
Mobile World Congress Day 1: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains and Chatbots Dominate the Conversation
1) Thisweek,theFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyteamisinBarcelonaattendingthe2017MobileWorldConference.
2) ArtificialIntelligence(AI)seemstobeeverywhereatMWC:mobileoperators,TelefónicaandSoftbank,talkedaboutmakingbigbetsonAI,andOlayprovidedmoreinsightsonitsAI-poweredbeautyapplication.
3) Blockchainsandchatbotswilldrivesomeofthebiggestchangesintheyearstocomebyredefiningtherulesoftransactionsandcommunication.
4) Thesuccessfule-commerceformulathathasprevailedisthesumofcontent,communityandmarketplace:Houzz,Polyvore,TicTail.
Mobile,theNextElementTheopeningkeynoteaddressofthe2017MobileWorldCongressfeaturedCEOsfromtheworld’sleadingoperators,includingMasayoshiSon,Founder,ChairmanandCEOofSoftbankGroup.Duringthekeynote,theydiscussedthechallengesandopportunitiesinthemobileindustry,andsharedinsightsintohowtheoperatorcommunitycancontinuetoplayacentralroleinsupportingglobaleconomicgrowthandsocialcapital.
Telefónica’sCEO,JoséMaríaÁlvarez-PalleteLópez,talkedextensivelyaboutplatformsasthemodelofbusinessesgoingforward.Accordingtohim,Telefónicaistransitioningtoabusinessthatismadeupofinterconnectedplatforms.Currently,thecompanyoperatesthreeplatforms:itsphysicalinfrastructure,itsproductandservices,andathirdplatformthatincorporatesitsoperationsandITinfrastructure.Now,thecompanyisabouttolaunchafourthplatform,Aura—asmartlayerontopoftheotherthreeplatformsthatwillconnectallinformation,interactwithexternaldataaspartofabiggerecosystemandserveasthecompany’sinterfacefortheconsumer.Aurawillempoweruserswithtransparencyandchoice,whichPalleteLópezbelievesiswhatthefutureoftheindustrywilllooklike.
Day 1
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February28,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
Masayoshi Son of Softbank delivered a keynote which touched on the philosophicalquestion about the role of AI over the next 30 years. Son believes that we will seeSingularityinthenext30years,thepointatwhichAIwillbecomemoreintelligentthanhumans. InSon’swords,“AIwillhaveanIQof10,000,”andeveniftheimplicationsofthis are still unknown, we know for sure that a world with AI will be ever moreconnected.AccordingtoSon,networkoperatorswillsee1trillionIoTsubscribersinthenext10years,atrendthatmotivatedSoftbank’sacquisitionofchip-manufacturerARM.In addition, there will be over 2,000 satellites launched by OneWeb, a companySoftbankinvestedin,whichwillenableafiber-likeconnectionbetweenearthandspace.Lastly, Son commented that security is and will be a pressing issue as more devicesconnecttotheinternet.
Olay:ABeautyCompanyonanAIMissionWiththelaunchoftheOlaySkinAdvisor,OlayislookingtoleveragethepowerofAItotransformthewaywomenshopforbeautyproducts.
AtMWC,weattendedapanelorganizedbyOlay,whichdiscussedthecurrenttrendsinAIanditsfuturepotential.ThepanelwasmoderatedbyHaileOwusuofMashableandfeaturedDr.FraukeNeuser,principalscientistatOlay,Dr.PaulMatts,aresearchfellowatP&G,AndyLapin,ChiefArchitectatKelleyBlueBook,ThomasBradley,HeadofDeveloperTechnology(EMEA,Russia&India)atNvidia,andMartinGarner,SeniorVicePresidentatCCSInsight.
ThepanelistsdiscussedthebroaderdefinitionofAIanditsapplicationwhenitcomestoderivinginsightsfromlargevolumesofdata.Inthecaseofbeautycompanies,Dr.Neusercommentedthatmostwomenstilldefertothein-storeexperiencetobuybeautyproducts,wheretheycantestproductsandgetadvicefromatrainedprofessional.However,shoppingforbeautyproductshasbecomeincreasinglymorecomplexwithmorebrandsandproductstochoosefrom.Thismeansthatone-thirdofwomenleavethestorewithoutfindingwhattheyarelookingforand60%ofbeautyshoppershaveintheircabinetathomethesocalled“skincaregraveyard”ofproductstheyboughtbutdon’tuse.ThepromiseAIhasisthatitcansolvesomeoftheserealpain-pointsforconsumers.
Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology
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February28,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
WhatistheOlaySkinAdvisor?TheOlaySkinAdvisorisaweb-basedappthatanalyzestheuser’sskintypeandmakespersonalizedrecommendationsonabeautyregimenandproducts.Howitworksistheuseruploadsaselfieandanswersasetofquestionsdesignedbybeautyscientiststohelpthealgorithmdeterminethe‘visibleskinage.’Theappthenrecommendsproductsbasedonitsfindings.Theapp’stechnologywastrainedonmorethan50,000facesandwillcontinuetolearneverytimeanewselfieisprocessed.
Wealsovisited4YFN(4YearsFromNow),which isthe“fastest-growingdigitalstartupevent.”Thenamecomesfromthepremisethattheshowfeaturescompaniesthatwilleventuallymake themain floorofMWC in fouryears.This isalso the fourthyear theeventhasbeenorganized inparallelwithMWC,andthisyear, features18,000squaremetersofexhibitionspace,housingpromisingglobalstartups.4YFNrunsaconferenceprogram,which, on the first day, included keynotes fromDovMoran, the inventoroftheUSBmemorystick,HarperReedfromPaypalandTerryvonBibrafromAlibaba,andthesessionsfocusedonthefutureofdigitaltechnologiesandstartuppitches.
TheDisruptiveImpactofBlockchainsBlockchainswerecoveredbyboththe4YFNandtheMWCconferenceprograms.BrockPierce,ManagingPartnerandChairmanofBlockchainCapital,discussedhisviewontheopportunitiesthatblockchaintechnologiespresentforentrepreneursandcorporates.Inhisview,blockchaintechnologyisprobablythemostimportanttechnologyaftertheInternet,asitwilldemocratizeaccesstofinancialservicestoalargedemographicinthecurrentlyunderserveddevelopingandemergingmarkets.Furthermore,blockchainsand,morespecifically,thetokensusedtotransactonblockchaininfrastructure,arelikelytorevolutionizethewaybusinessesgetstartedandhowtheyraisecapital.In2016,therewere64ICOs(InitialTokenOfferings),whichraisedover$103million,and,insomecases,fundingroundswereraisedinminutes—forexample,Golemraised$8.5millionbysellingtokensin19minutesandSingularDTVraised$7.7millionin17minutes.
TheFutureofChatbotsisVoiceJohnPulverdeliveredasessiononchatbotsandthefutureofcommunication.PulveristheInternetpioneerwhoismostfamousfor“thePulverOrder,”whichisarulingbytheFederalCommunicationsCommission(FCC)regardingInternetProtocol(IP).Theorderruledthatcomputer-to-computerVoIPisnotatelecommunicationsserviceandsoisnotsubjecttotraditionalvoicetelecommunicationsregulation.Hecommentedthat63%ofpeopleengagewithcompaniesthroughtextormessagingandoutofthoseinteractions,50%arehandledbybots.ForPulver,thefuturebelongstothefurtherautomationoftheseinteractions.However,theevolutionheisexpectingisthatratherthanusingtext,peoplewillmoveontousevoicetoconversewithmachines.Infact,hecommentedthatGenZwillseethemovebacktovoicecommunicationfromthecurrenttextualnorm,andthatAItechnology,suchasAmazon’svirtualassistantAlexa,willplayabigroleinthat.
E-Commerce=Content,Community,MarketplaceUriLevanon,FounderandCEOofHasteMedia,deliveredapracticalguidetotheevolutionofthee-commercebusinessmodelthatincorporatescontent,communityandcommerce.HelookedatexamplessuchasHouzz,PolyvoreandTicTailwhichallleveragethepowerofcontentandcommunitiestodrivetrafficandengagement,whichleadtomonetization.Oneexampleforasuccessfulengagementstrategyisthenow-globalplatformforinteriordesign,Houzz,whichgenerates25millionmonthlyuniqueviews.
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February28,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
AccordingtoLevanon,successfule-commercebusinessesfallalongthe“trifecta,”whichisdefinedasthecontent,communityandmarketplacesegmentsofthebusinessmodel.
Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology
Hefurtherpointedoutthatthereareplentyofopportunitiestocreatebusinessesfollowingthismodel,andhighlightedexamplessuchasGoopandBrit+Co,whichwerecreatedbyGwynethPaltrowandBritMorin,respectively.Bothbusinessesofferuserslifestyleguidelinesthroughanauthenticvoice,lotsofcontent,curatedbrandsand,eventually,privateones.
Continuingontheentrepreneurialtheme,wesawpitchesfromanumberofpromisingstartups:
Reply.ai:Aplatformtobuildandmanageyourconversationalstrategy.Thecompanybuildschatbotsthatallowcompaniestohave1:1interactionwiththeconsumer.
Bitrefill:Aservicethatallowsprepaidcardrefills.Thetechnologysupportsover140countriesforinternationalmobilerechargingbyleveragingtheBitcoininfrastructure.
OpenBack:Atechnologythatmanageshowmobileappnotificationsarepushedtotheuser,redefiningtheappcustomerexperience.
SplitFy:AservicethatallowsusersinSpaintomakepeer-to-peermoneytransferssuchassplittingbills.
Sentio:DevelopedtheSuperbook,aUniversalLaptopShellforAndroid,whichtransformstheandroidsmartphoneintoafullPC.
ThefirstdayofMWCendedwithakeynotefromReedHastings,CEOofNetflix,whodiscussedNetflix’stransitiontoaglobalcompanywithcontentdevelopedanddistributedacrosstheworld.Wewillbecontinuingourcoverageonthemostexcitingproducts,technologiesandstartupsoverthecourseofMWC2017.
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February28,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
DeborahWeinswig,CPAManagingDirectorFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyNewYork:917.655.6790HongKong:852.6119.1779China:86.186.1420.3016deborahweinswig@fung1937.comKirilPopovSeniorAnalyst
SimicChanSeniorResearchAssociate
HongKong:8thFloor,LiFungTower888CheungShaWanRoad,KowloonHongKongTel:85223004406London:242-246MaryleboneRoadLondon,NW16JQUnitedKingdomTel:44(0)2076168988NewYork:1359Broadway,9thFloorNewYork,NY10018Tel:6468397017FungGlobalRetailTech.com
