By Margarita Garcia - Managing Director, Naoitech
As we embrace the AI Revolution the prevailing narrative emphasizes that the majority of AI innovation has been driven by the advancements and investments from Big Tech. However, our research tells a different story. It is the ingenuity and hard work of SMEs (Small and medium-sized Enterprises) and Researchers that have primarily fueled the advancements in AI and digital technologies.
Generative AI as we know it today, capable of creating realistic and complex outputs, took off with the development of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) in 2014. Back in 2018 companies such as Taylor Brands and Logojoy allowed users to create logos and even entire brand specs using Machine Learning. The systems worked similarly to the current Gen AI generators by allowing users to input simple prompts and select design preferences. This highlights how advancements like Dall-e and other recent generative image generators may not be as groundbreaking as they want the public to believe. Startups had already deployed similar functionalities years before.
If we look at the current landscape of AI, we see that most of the innovations are happening in startups and medium-sized organizations. The fact that some of the most innovative and forward-thinking AI SMEs comprise most of the Forbes AI 50 list further bolsters this point. These companies secured significant funding even in a challenging investment climate, showcasing their immense value and potential. Some of these SMEs have developed incredible innovations such as, Cohere’s Command R+, Hugging Face’s Transformers, Galileo’s Luna just to name a few. These innovations have prompted Big Tech companies to partner with those SMEs so they can take advantage of those advances.
Big Tech solutions tend to be designed for massive scale, which might not translate well to the specific needs of a niche market. Additionally, there is an ongoing concern about the copyright and ownership of the data that was used to train their LLMs. There is still no clarity or legislation that addresses Data Ownership and Control. This can be complex for companies adopting big tech solutions as there may be legal challenges if the LLMs generate content that directly copies or too closely resembles copyrighted works or substantial parts of a copyrighted work are recognizable in the LLM's output, this could be considered copyright infringement.
At Naoitech, we have meticulously researched and tested hundreds of AI companies so we can recommend our clients the best solutions to enhance their value chain. One prevailing concern in the current AI landscape is the tendency of companies from diverse sectors and sizes to favour big tech for AI solutions, often disregarding smaller companies that can offer faster and more advanced customized results. The success of AI projects depends on how accurately companies can solve business problems for their unique customer base and industry while utilizing their data in the most effective, secure, and responsible way.
There are thousands of AI SMEs that can provide customized cutting-edge solutions tailored to your company’s specific needs so before adopting AI solutions analyze what are the main objectives. risks and gains of the solutions so you can select the best companies and technology. By taking a strategic approach, you can leverage the power of AI SMEs to find customized solutions that propel your business forward. Remember, it's not about adopting the latest tech trend; it's about finding the right technology for your unique needs.