Tata-backed start-up plans new AI services

Insurance, stockbroking in the line-up

September 30, 2017 09:10 pm | Updated October 01, 2017 10:01 pm IST - Bengaluru

A key fourth: CEO Sachin Jaiswal is one of the 4 IIT alumni
who started Techbins Solutions, which owns Niki.ai.

A key fourth: CEO Sachin Jaiswal is one of the 4 IIT alumni who started Techbins Solutions, which owns Niki.ai.

Niki.ai, a Ratan Tata-backed artificial intelligence start-up, has lined up 10 new services including in banking, insurance, stockbroking, healthcare and e-tailing to get ahead of its Indian competitors like Arya.ai and Snapshopr, Nitin Babel, director and co-founder said.

“We are already providing 15 services for sectors such as aviation, entertainment and ride industry,” Mr. Babel said in an interview. “The 10 new services will be rolled out during next year.”

Techbins Solutions, which owns Niki.ai, was founded in April 2015 by four IIT Kharagpur alumni — Sachin Jaiswal, Keshav Prawasi, Nitin Babel and Shishir Modi.

Chat interface

Its product, named Niki, is a bot that lets users order anything through a chat interface. The start-up leverages natural language processing and machine learning technologies to converse with customers over a chat interface and places their orders.

Mr. Tata, Ronnie Screwvala’s Unilazer Ventures, Haresh Chawla of private equity firm True North, and Arihant Patni of Hive Technologies, and German software company SAP’s SAP.iO are investors in the start-up, which raised $2 million in Series A funding.

The Bengaluru-based company, which employs 35 people, works on a channel partnership model and generates revenue for every order processed on its platform.

“Niki.ai is a toddler just now,” Mr. Babel said. “She will obviously make mistakes while learning. What we are trying to say is that we intend to be your bank’s relationship manager. Most of the banks have gone digital now. Niki.ai can also be your digital shopkeeper similar to the familiar face in mom-and-pop stores.”

Google announced its chat app Allo to challenge Amazon’s Echo and Facebook has its Messenger platform. Microsoft, Telegram, Slack and Kik have their own chatbots.

A year ago Snapshopr, an artificial intelligence start-up specialising in visual search and image recognition, secured an undisclosed amount in angel funding led by former Flipkart CTO Amod Malviya.

Another rival Arya.ai had raised $750,000 in a pre-Series A round of funding from YourNest Angel Fund and VentureNursery members.

Samsung and Wipro Ventures invested under $20 million in U.S.-based Vicarious, a robotics start-up founded by an Indian entrepreneur Dileep George, that enables computers to achieve human-level intelligence.

“We are yet to see an Indian company build a chatbot and stand out,” Shishir Modi, director and co-founder said.

“Globally Apple, FB, Amazon or Samsung may come out with a good bot.”

“There is an opportunity in every new technology. Machines and human beings will co-exist,” Mr. Modi said. Few jobs may be lost. They said the same when desktops came into your offices. For us, right now it is time to execute and plan ahead.”

Mr. Bebel said Niki.ai’s revenue was growing at 35% month-on-month and the company has more than 50 partners on board. Its service is currently being used by more than 4,00,000 customers.

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