it’s clear Technical minds are finding ways to apply AI to a range of sectors. On Y Combinator’s first day of the Summer 2023 Collection Showcase, there were enough companies preparing to use AI in a medical context that we started keeping an internal log.
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The focus makes sense. Modern AI tools, especially LLMs and everything related to generative AI, have the potential to make today’s workers faster, perhaps even replacing labor inputs in a number of roles. For companies looking to lower their costs while continuing to grow, the ability to use more software to do the work that is done by hand today is no small promise.
Startups are not alone. Public technology companies of all sizes are working on the same set of problems, albeit from a place already filled with existing customer accounts.
The demand apparently exists. Reading the earnings calls from UiPath (Robotic Process Automation with a Growing AI Footprint) and C3.AI from this week shows that the companies are seeing a lot of enthusiasm on the customer side.
What keeps hitting me? barely Oddly enough, when we look at the growth forecasts from tech stores that have a big AI story, the numbers look a bit modest. Fortunately, the two newly public technology companies – UiPath – went public in April 2021; C3 in December 2020 – Provided a little bit of context around the growth question that helps make the demand, supply and revenue picture a bit clearer.
As Q3 2023 earnings approach, we have our sights set on potential AI outcomes, leading us to ask whether AI-related revenue can help companies reverse declining net retention. We also looked at how some tech companies are charging for AI products today, even if a lack of data will make it more difficult for startups to win the AI race. Let’s expand our investigation by looking at how some high-tech companies anticipate AI in public markets to grow, and talk about demand as it is today.
UiPath and C3.ai
Following its earnings reports on Wednesday, shares of UiPath are up 7% at the time of writing, while shares of C3 are down about 16%. UiPath Beat street expectations and announced a $500 million stock buyback effort. ($102 million in equity-based compensation last quarter, five-quarters of antidilution plans, in other words). C3 fails to excite investors as much, Predicting greater losses in the future.