Download - Mobile World Congress Day 1: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains … · 2017-02-28 · more insights on its AI-powered beauty application. 3) Blockchains and chatbots will drive

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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.

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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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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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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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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