Thetopstartupacceleratorshaveahistoryofseeingthefutureinideasthatsoundedsillyatthetime.Afterall,whowouldhaveforeseenbillion-dollarbusinessesbasedonrentingyourairmattresstostrangers,orshoppingfortheirgroceriesOffsiteBackup?Sowhenprestigiousacceleratorsinvestaroundcommonthemes,it’sworthtakingnoteofwhat’sresonating.Withthatinmind,weminedCrunchbasedataonnewseedinvestmentsbytop-rankedaccelerators,lookingforsimilaritiesintheirvisionofwhereconsumerandenterprisetechisheaded.Thedatasetlooksforcompaniesthatraisedfirst-timefundinginthepastsixmonthsfromacceleratorsinNorthAmericawithastandoutrecordforbackingstartupsthatgoontosecuremuchhighervaluations.Herearethestartuptrendsthatarecapturingtheimaginations,andwallets,oftopaccelerators.AIbotsforbusinessesarebigThebotswillhelpyou.Accelerator-backedstartupsarebuildingalotofAI-enabledtoolstohelpbusinesseswithcustomersupport,salesandmarketing.There’sClaire,abotfortestingconsumerproductsandadcampaigns,andScribe,anAI-powered“salesdevelopmentrepresentative”thatcanidentifynewleadshongkonglocaltour.Forcustomersupport,thereisEloquentLabs,whichusesAItoaugmentandreplacelivechatcustomersupportagentsate-commercecompanies.Andifyouareanairlineandinneedofbettercustomersupport(whichisprettymucheveryairline),there’sTechstars-backedICMHub,adeveloperof“artificiallyintelligentvirtualagents.”ThesearejustafewoftheAI-enabledbusinessappsthatraisedseedfundingthispastyear.TheriseoftheAI-poweredconsumerdigitalassistantsItmaysoundfar-fetchedin2017totrustyourfinancestoanAI-powereddigitalassistantwithacutesyname,butacceleratorsarebettingthatinafewyears,that’sgoingtochange.OnecaseinpointisPenny,aYCombinator-backedmobileappthatfunctionsasapersonalfinancecoach.It’soneofseveralpersonalfinanceappsacceleratorsarerollingout.Realestategetsmoretemporary,efficientandondemandSure,youcanstillshowupinpersonandsignalong-termleaseonahome,officeorshop.Butalotofstartupsarecomingupwithbothsimplerandmoretemporarywaystosecurespace.Perhapspartoftheimpetusisthattwoofthemostfamousandvaluableprivateventure-backedcompanies—AirbnbandWeWork—arerealestate-related,soit’saprovensectorforgeneratingamassivevaluation. It’sentirelypossiblethattechnologiesinitiallytargetedforoneindustrywillendupdeployedinanother. Onthetemporaryspacefront,there’sBulletin,whichpitchesitselfas“WeWorkforretailspace,”andLoftSmart,whichfindsrentalsforstudents.Ontheefficiencyside,Ikosisaimingtomakerentingeasierforresidentiallandlords,whileRezipayslandlordsdirectlytorenttheirapartments.Seeafullerlistofaccelerator-backedrealestatestartupshere.TakingsmarttransportationtothenextlevelAlongsideincreasedinterestinsmartbuildings,ridehailing,mappingappsandreal-timetrafficupdateshavealreadydonemuchinthepastfewyearstotransformhowwegetaroundtown.Now,acceleratorsarehopingtotakethingstothenextlevel.Anumberoftransportstartupshavelaunchedwithananalyticsfocus,suchasRevmax,avehicleroutingtool,andGridwise,whichhelpsride-hailingdriversmaximizeearnings.Andforthoseworriedthatallthesemappingandtrafficanalyticstoolsaremakingforinattentive,screen-gazingmotorists,there’sTexttoTicket,whichletsuserssubmitvideosofdistracteddrivers.PivotscomenextInterestingasmanyofthesestartupsseem,it’sworthnotingthathardlyanyaccelerator-backedstartupgrowsupintoabigcompanywithoutatleastafewdozenbusinessmodelpivotsalongtheway.Soit’sentirelypossiblethattechnologiesinitiallytargetedforoneindustrywillendupdeployedinanotherhongkongtraveltips.Fornow,however,wecansitbackandenjoy(orfear)thevisionofafuturechattingwithhumanoidbotsenroutetoone’stemporaryhomeorofficeusingthemostefficientroutethattechnologycanprovide.
