AI: What Competitive Advantage for International Commercial Success?
On the occasion of the second edition of the ALL IN event, we gave the floor to three startups that offer artificial intelligence solutions.
Montreal and Quebec, in general, are already recognized worldwide as hubs of expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), with numerous startups and established companies integrating AI into their business models across various sectors, from healthcare to finance, transportation, and agriculture. The second edition of the ALL IN event is proof of our ambition to strengthen this positioning. To go further, we asked a few tech startups how artificial intelligence provides them with an additional competitive advantage.
Offering Personalization to Clients: A Competitive Advantage
Trampoline AI, a 2024 Revelation of the ecosystem, has developed an algorithm that helps SMEs use AI to conduct precise and advanced searches within their systems. The solution integrates with existing software through an extension, and the AI algorithms take care of identifying the information within the company.
"AI does not necessarily make us more competitive, because everyone today claims to be doing AI, and there is no standard way to compare AIs with each other. However, by building around AI, unlike our competitors, we develop a very competitive interface and tools," explains Edouard Reinach, CEO of Trampoline AI.
Maket AI, a startup incubated in Techstars in 2021, integrates generative AI in the architectural field to automate residential floor plans, 3D renderings, and explore unlimited styles.
"The use of AI gives us a major competitive advantage on the international stage due to our ability to offer large-scale personalized solutions and accelerate the design and decision-making process. Our AI can adapt to the specificities of local markets, allowing us to meet the unique needs of each region," says Stéphane Turbide, co-founder of Maket AI.
"By automating low-value repetitive tasks, or tasks that people are less inclined to perform, we increase productivity while improving job satisfaction. A company that increases its productivity boosts its revenues and can thus offer better wages without raising prices, which helps raise the standard of living," notes Pape Wade, CEO of Airudi, a Montreal-based startup transforming human resource management by capitalizing on the wealth of available data and the power of artificial intelligence.
Adapting to International Markets: Regulatory and Technical Challenges
International commercial success comes with its share of challenges, and AI startups are no exception to the rule.
One of the main challenges for international commercial success for an AI startup is to target markets where AI adoption is more advanced. Since AI solutions are costly to develop, it is crucial to stimulate investment and encourage subsidies to help companies innovate in this field. It is not enough to simply inject funds into research and development; it is equally important to fund locally developed AI products to support the growth of companies capable of succeeding internationally.
"Some markets offer more interesting opportunities than others. For example, regions like the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia, where governments and industries have already shown strong interest in AI adoption, present more favorable conditions for AI startups. In contrast, in markets where adoption is still in its infancy, education and awareness-raising efforts become even more crucial, and the path to adoption can be longer and more expensive," explains Pape.
Edouard also mentions regional challenges: "It is difficult to choose a market, especially if you do not yet have known customers in a particular market. With AI, there are also important regulatory issues to navigate, as many require precise answers."
Stéphane shares this analysis: "We need to adapt our AI models to local architectural constraints. Each market has its own regulations, standards, and cultural preferences, requiring precise adjustments of our algorithms to ensure their relevance and efficiency. This can slow down deployment in certain markets or increase entry costs. However, these challenges also present opportunities for innovation and differentiation."