AI innovation never sleeps — and neither do we when it comes to noticing the advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence. This AI and Machine Learning Startups roundup list is to highlight disruptive startups, emerging technologies, and niche breakthroughs in our space. The list contains companies we talked to or interacted with throughout the month of November and December 2024.

Disclaimer: None of these entries are paid-for-advertisement or sponsored —this roundup is simply GMI Cloud's commentary on what excites us. The companies or projects named were not involved in creating this listicle, and this may be the first time they have heard about it.

Know a company that should make our list next month? Let us know at [email protected]

AL/ML Spotlights

Storytell.ai

Their tagline: Boost team productivity with business-grade intelligence across your data

  • What They Do: Storytell.ai is an enterprise-grade AI platform designed to transform raw data into actionable business insights for knowledge workers. The platform leverages its proprietary DistillAI algorithm, which helps separate signal from noise, and offers features like Story Tiles™ for organizing content and de-siloing knowledge across teams. Storytell's aim is to enhance collaboration and productivity within enterprises by making AI-driven tools accessible and effective for business professionals.
  • Why They Stand Out:
    • Colin: Storytell caught my attention because they solve a few real problems any organization faces: knowledge pooling, knowledge transfer, and knowledge synthesis. The tangible value for me (having played around with it) is that Storytell effectively functions as an inference engine that you don't really need to train. An org can just upload their company's content and knowledge into Storytell to result in a second brain that employees can leverage for inquiries and/or content creation.
    • Jonny: Makes it simpler and faster to use AI as a team using company specific information. Prompt engineering becomes easier because Storytell already has context about your company.
  • Concerns:
    • Colin: There are real data privacy concerns with a tool like Storytell. You're effectively uploading some very sensitive information and data to a third-party provider if you want to maximize what Storytell can do for you. While Storytell does have a strong commitment to security, any company using Storytell should have a deep discussion about information security, confidentiality, and privacy concerns when deciding what to upload to Storytell.
    • Jonny: It seems inevitable that there will be large competition for this use case. I imagine Google or Microsoft enabling a similar across company data rooms would make this easier and low barrier to entry for most companies.
  • Future Outlook:
    • If Storytell continues their current trajectory, we expect them to be an attractive option for organizations that want an institutionally relevant inference engine but don't have the resources to create and train one themselves.

AI Jesus

Their tagline (translated): Visitors share their thoughts and questions in a confessional with a heavenly hologram, where words are only intended for four ears – but without confession. An artificial intelligence that reacts aesthetically as Jesus may create a sacred moment.

  • What They Do: This isn't a startup, but Peter’s Chapel in Lucerne, Switzerland has showcased an "experimental art installation" featuring AI Jesus in the confessional booth. Here's a video about it.
  • Why They Stand Out:
    • Colin: I mean… without getting into the concerns about whether this will draw in the wrath of God, my initial thought is that this will at least be interesting. I did a quick Googling and found out that in the early days of Church, confessions were public affairs. Then it became private confessions, and it stands to reason the practice can still advance from there. Whether the right move is to go AI, that's up to the individual, right? Would you use one?
    • Jonny: These niche use cases for AI are fascinating and show how AI is disrupting even the oldest of industries.
  • Concerns:
    • Colin: A Vice article noted: When the reporter entered the confessional, AI Jesus warned, “Do not disclose personal information under any circumstances. Use this service at your own risk. Press the button if you accept.” Confessions seem to be personal issues, which seems to be at odds with that warning.
    • Jonny: Does religion actually need AI? Maybe. When once there was a rush to build a mobile app for anything and everything, we might be seeing something similar with AI.
  • Future Outlook:
    • We're interested in seeing where religion takes AI, as organizations like Scientology, the Vatican, and more have definitely embraced technology over the years. Whether AI versions of people will be considered a spiritual reincarnation in the future remains to be seen.