Led by veteran analysts Joe Maglitta and Galen Moore, the report unpacks VC deal activity and the growth of emerging startups in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Big Data; and
Findings align with the Healey administration’s “AI for X” initiative to make Massachusetts the leader in verticalized AI applications tailored to a handful of key Bay State industries
BOSTON -- January 30, 2023 – Consulting firm Value Creation Labs® (VCL) today announced the release of its 2024 AI Report: Boston Startups Put AI and Data to Work in Vertical Industries and Enterprises. Download the report at no cost thanks to Fidelity and supporting partners Glasswing Ventures and New England Venture Capital Association (NEVCA). Download here: https://www.valuecreationlabs.co/ai-report. (Disclosure: *NEVCA and Fidelity are not affiliated.)
Written in Value Creations Labs’ trademark conversational style, the report explores the quickening shift in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) investments in New England into core enterprise and vertical industry applications, enabled by leading-edge data infrastructure. For the multi-month project, VCL utilized and analyzed proprietary investment data from PitchBook, spoke with VCs and interviewed leading-edge companies in the space to round out its research and analysis.
“This report is a great resource to Massachusetts officials, AI industry experts, ethicists, entrepreneurs and others banding together to develop an AI strategy in 2024,” said Zach Servideo, founder of Value Creation Labs, publisher of the report. “Investors will find new ideas and opportunities. IT and business leaders will discover innovative AI & ML offerings to help their organizations grow. Everyone will see a vibrant local landscape whose impacts will continue to extend far beyond its geographic boundaries.”
Governor Maura Healey’s inaugural economic development plan aims to make Massachusetts the leader in “AI for X” — artificial intelligence tailored to key industries that play to the state’s existing strengths, including life sciences, health care, advanced manufacturing, robotics, cybersecurity, education and finance. This vertical industry focus is backed up by a recent TechCrunch survey of 40+ investors, which concluded “2024 could see the beginning of a second wave of AI startups … focused on specific sectors, and that move away from building layers on top of technologies from companies like OpenAI and Google.”
VCL’s research determined two overarching trends which further support the verticalization of AI technologies:
Innovations in intelligent data management and automation, a crucial feeder of AI, exemplified by DataRobot, Inrupt and FeatureByte.
Impactful AI applications for specific verticals and use cases. For example, Black Kite and Transmit Security are applying AI in cybersecurity. Valo, Devo and Biofourmas continue to expand the AI foundations of their revolutionary life and health science businesses.
On behalf of NEVCA, Servideo has previously overseen deep-tech reports focused on robotics and cybersecurity innovation in New England. He has again teamed up with veteran Boston-based analysts Joe Maglitta and Galen Moore to produce this latest report, which identifies, organizes and spotlights several noteworthy Boston-area companies developing breakthroughs.
“We’ve identified an impressive cluster of Boston metro companies busy innovating AI across enterprises and industry verticals,” said Joe Maglitta, veteran deep tech analyst and lead author of the report. “These innovators are building leadership in applying Big Data and a variety of AI models to crucial business challenges in cybersecurity, biotech, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, robotics, martech and other fields.”
The 2024 VCL AI Report features profiles and founder interviews with three emerging Boston-based firms: Inrupt, a data management and privacy disrupter co-founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web; Black Kite, a cutting-edge provider of third-party risk management software and solutions; and FeatureByte, developer of a data-centric solution that simplifies feature engineering and feature management for data scientists.
“Businesses from all industries and across the globe are aiming to deploy AI at scale to improve their operations,” said Kristen Craft, VP, Business Partner Manager at Fidelity. “This report’s findings prove that our region is poised to be a global leader as enterprise AI’s focus broadens from maximizing efficiency to also maximizing effectiveness.”
“Having founded a Boston-based firm to invest in AI startups in 2016, we have seen the evolution of this transformative technology that is reshaping business,” said Rudina Seseri, founder and partner at Glasswing Ventures. “In New England, we are seeing visionary and disciplined business building in the AI space and commercial viability poised to soar in value across verticals.”
“Our third report with Zach and his team may be the most impressive and important one to date,” said Ari Glantz, Executive Director of New England Venture Capital Association. “This is the sort of well-researched reporting we need to help investors, entrepreneurs and decision makers succeed in their future AI-oriented pursuits – and importantly, to shine a spotlight on the differentiated approaches to the AI opportunity that stem from New England's unique ecosystem.”
Interested parties can download the complimentary report here: https://www.valuecreationlabs.co/ai-report.
AI Product Growth Accelerator
Today, Value Creation Labs also announced a strategic partnership with AI product developer Gravitate AI to help bring AI products to market. VCL has been supporting the strategy, design and go-to-market for multiple products a year. In 2023 alone, the company helped develop and bring to market Tracer, a first-ever software application in the GovTech space; and ScrumLab, a new suite of on-demand video products from Scrum Inc.
Whether you’re conducting due diligence for a potential investment or exploring the potential of developing and bringing an AI product to market, investors and entrepreneurs are encouraged to reach out here.
About Value Creation Labs®
Founded in 2021, Value Creation Labs® (VCL) unites a team of strategists, technologists, creatives, analysts and tacticians that can lead and support companies’ immediate and long-term goals. Our consortium’s consultants have built products and executed go-to-market strategies for household brands and startups that have achieved billions of dollars worth of value in exits and revenue. Serving in a myriad of leadership roles, VCL has consistently built and managed high-performing domestic and global teams for its partners spanning product development, technology, marketing, branding, and other key functions. Learn more at www.valuecreationlabs.co.
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