Newsletter Q1 2024 - Special growth edition

SustAIn.brussels - Digital and Sustainable Certification

• We are happy to announce that AxonJay received Sustainable and data certification, kudos to The Tribe for putting in the hard work on this one and AxonJay strategy makes all worthwhile!
• At AxonJay.ai we are net-zero but we want to go even a step further that's why we are engaging ourselves to being evaluated and participated in the workshop and certification programs offered by SustAIn.brussels. Our successful completion of the assessment, positions us as a startup exemplifying best practices, ready to lead the way in "Finding our digital and sustainable journey!"
• Firstly, everything we use is secondhand and we compensate all our travels by getting trash out of the oceans! (they are our biggest CO2 absorbers on earth). Look at our counter 733kg on our website https://axonjay.ai/sustainability
• Secondly, we invented the #datapeeling™ technique. This technique makes us use up to 80% less CPU powered, and avoids running deep learning models all the time. We are all in for efficiency in our AI. That's why our AI works in Realtime and has much more relevant business impact then any other solution.
• Thirdly, we always want to improve our statistics, so together with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel & SustAIn.brussels we assessed what we could do better and act upon this. We really walk our talk.

 

AxonJay is accepted to the @Birdhouse accelerator!

AxonJay is accepted and became one of Deep Tech startups of Cohort 15 @Birdhouse accelerator! We will be joining their 12-week startup program get the chance to meet the Birdhouse tribe to find our dedicated mentor & advisors. We’re eagerly looking forward to the final matchmaking and our journey within the Birdhouse family & network!

 

AxonJay being selected as one of the #15 best EU-startups

AxonJay has become one of the 15 finalists pitching at the 10th EU-Startups Summit 2024, taking place from 9th to 10th May in Malta. The Annual Pitch Day showcases Europe's top seed and pre-seed startups selected from a pool of more than 2,000 applications featuring exceptionally innovative startups.

 

Following a rigorous evaluation process, AxonJay is pleased to have been chosen as one of the top 15 finalists. At the event in Malta, all startups will compete for the opportunity to win an outstanding prize package valued at 360k and earn the title of Pitch Competition Champion.

 

Events

1. We wrapped up the year 2023 on a high note by organizing a disruptive event "The Intelligence Revolution". We delved deep into AI's significant influence on both business and society through engaging keynotes, hands-on workshops, and cutting-edge demo all within the historical setting of the Royal Galleria's ecosystem dating back to 1846. Many distinguished people have lived or pass by through the Galleria, but we’re sure in no other office someone like Victor Hugo has lived, and in no other office Rene Magritte’s heritage is part of the ceilings.
   https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jean-philippe-m-l-schepens-van-thiel_galerieduroi-machinelearning-selfml-activity-7138087515780968448-EPy8?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
2. We are super proud to announce SAP as our prime customer of our Self-ML Platform™ and our AI-Sales assistant. More news will follow.
3. What a remarkable week it was, from January 16th to 19th, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where AxonJay received the Disruptive Technology Excellence Award for the second consecutive year. We engaged in various stimulating discussions at different events such as AI-House Davos, The Belgium House in Davos, and the Swedish Lunch. We have participated and supported unDavos for their innovative approach and alternative way of looking at the whole Davos frenzics, We thank Prime Minister Mr. Alexander De Croo, Tinake Van Hooland for the insightful conversations on AI and biotech in the Belgium house. Participating in the World Economic Forum in Davos was truly an extraordinary experience, and we take immense pride in being giving an intervued on National Belgium News during Prime Time, adding to our list of amazing achievements.
   https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jean-philippe-m-l-schepens-van-thiel_davos-andywarhol-kudos-activity-7155251184583208960-yWTJ
4. We joined the innvitation by hub.brussels to be part of selected group of startups and present best innovations and to be part of bets inovations at MWC 2024 in Barcelona. It was less a trade fair and more an exhilarating journey into the future and most important meeting new people to gaining insights and staying on top of industry trends, how we can make a difference in our industry and leave a lasting impact.
   https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jean-philippe-m-l-schepens-van-thiel_mwc24-kudos-machinelearning-activity-7168573404260864000-q8dP
5. Part of our UK journey engagement AxonJay organized FinTech events on 28th&29th of February, at Level39 and Trafalgal square. We addressed the UK based Family Offices, Banks, Investors and demonstrated how our AI-Private Fund assistant provides real-time global AI-driven business forecasting, insights and predictions on alternative funds, enabling better data driven investment decisions and helping businesses generate leads, close deals, and foster customer loyalty.
   https://axonjay.ai/ai-private-fund-assistant https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jean-philippe-m-l-schepens-van-thiel_kudos-29thoffebruary-airevolution-activity-7169000447574282240-X-8L
6. It was great to see that a global Tier1 company like Johnson & Johnson is taking innovation very seriously, because tomorrow it will not only be about thought leadership, but also about conscious leadership. J&J proactively choose & visited AxonJay and together we tackled several very interesting questios: Can you explain us a little about the genesis of AxonJay and your journey to date? How do you see new technology as AI impacting and shaping the future of work? Is creativity important for a global deep-tech company like yours?What are some of the future trends you are seeing that may likely disrupt the current ways of working and enable digital dexterity? How are you organizing your resources (talent, processes, intellectual and creativity capital) to create outstanding value for your customers? What would you do differently if you started over again? From what you've seen in the last 3 years - remote/hybrid work, shortage of highly skilled talent, demands of the digital economy - how might emerging technologies invigorate the workplace? How will specially AI change the world?
   https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jean-philippe-m-l-schepens-van-thiel_kudos-innovation-mindset-activity-7179787396769546240-Krav
7. AxonJay participated at a startup event in Lille (Rijssel) at EuraTechnologies, taking a little tour with France Digitale and presenting AI-Sales assistant to potential investors and customers.
   https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jean-philippe-m-l-schepens-van-thiel_reversepitching-seedround-kudos-activity-7184475587812433920-aM4
8. RARE Founders event - London’s Biggest demo day, investor & founder conference; AxonJay has been chosen as one of the hundreds of startups in the London startup scene, and have the opportunity to pitch and showcase our innovative and unique Self-Machine Learning Platform™ and AI-Sales assistant to potential investors in a one-day conference on 22nd April 2024. at Westminster, London, featuring pitching sessions, roundtable discussions, and masterclasses tailored to address the requirements of both investors and founders.
   https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jean-philippe-m-l-schepens-van-thiel_london-kudos-rarefounders-activity-7187088354956464128-D83c?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

 

Customers in the spotlight: BLCC

At AxonJay, we are pleased to announce the addition of the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain as our new AI-Sales assistant customer, and within just a few weeks, we have already witnessed remarkable results. The BLCC is using our AI-Sales Assistant on a daily basis to predict which Belgian and Luxembourg companies will enter the UK market. This is accomplished through the usage of real-time signals, to which the BLCC provides direct feedback, ensuring that the AI-Sales assistant delivers more accurate information.

"It's incredibly simple to uncover new leads with the AI-Sales Assistant. This powerful tool requires minimal effort and time investment while delivering highly relevant information. By integrating this technology, we're enhancing BLCC's intelligence and demonstrating our commitment to leveraging cutting-edge solutions. The preparation time has decreased from 1 hour per day per employee  to just 1 hour in total per week.”

"With real-time insights at our fingertips, we've mastered the art of converting cold calls into hot calls, thanks to our access to real-time company insights, which we incorporate into our initial offer. Within just two weeks of utilizing the AI-Sales Assistant, we have identified 8 new companies as highly prospective clients looking to expand their business to the UK. This is a massive increase of more then 200% compared to our situation before we started using our AI-Sales assistant from AxonJay!”

"Gone are the days of scrambling to catch up with potential clients by flipping through newspapers and magazines or scrolling the internet. With instant access to pertinent information and predictions, we're able to seize opportunities the moment they arise, or even before."

"Our most significant challenge was the extensive preparation time spent on research. Hunting down companies planning to enter the UK market involved scouting countless sources, from magazines to online platforms. Our efficiency has skyrocketed since implementing the AI-Sales Assistant. What used to consume an hour each day in manual preparation now takes just an hour per week, empowering us to focus on strategic initiatives. With the AI-Sales Assistant, this exhaustive process is streamlined, saving us valuable time.

 

AxonJay’s Tribe

We are Introducing Our New Tribe Members!

But that's not all!

We're incredibly honored to have Stijn (Stan) Christiaens, Founder & Chief Data Citizen at Collibra, joined our Advisory Board. His invaluable insights will guide us as we navigate our journey.

Please check and visit our web site: https://axonjay.ai/the-tribe

At the heart of our recruitment lies our 'recruit with heart & energy' policy. We believe in passion, drive, and the willingness to change the world. Together, Stijn, Zsuzsana, Hans, Gabriel, Olivia, and the rest of our pan-European Tribe are united in our pursuit of #DisruptWithPurpose #RightHereRightNow!

Let's democratize AI and shape the future of business, with making AI accessible to businesses everywhere.

 

Science & Tech

• Improved News Filtering: We developed a new way to filter news articles to make sure you get the most relevant and high-quality content. Plus, it works with any language, so it's more flexible and scalable. Its called News Fingerprinting.
• Enhanced Website Data Extraction: Our updated process for extracting data from websites now gathers even more information than before and we've developed a method which recognizes fake changes in website content, this is based on the structure of the adressed data.
• User-Customized Signals: Soon, users will be able to add their own signals to our Self-ML Platform™. Similar to how you interact with ChatGPT, users can describe what they're looking for, and our system will automatically translate those descriptions into processes that find the relevant information. This makes monitoring more personalized and efficient. Its called Integrated Small Language Modelling.
• Expanded Financial Data: We discovered ways to add financial information to our AI-Private fund assistant. For Funds and Fund managers, we are adding information about the assets they owned over time. In the first wave, this adds assets information for 40.000 Fund managers, which gives immediate advantages over any existing system.

 

The AI Buzz: Navigating Through the Noise of Hype

• People hyping AI, don’t know AI
• AI as a marketing tool
• The consequences of the AI buzz
• A nuanced look at the future of useful AI

The word "Artificial Intelligence" (AI) is both fascinating and has a lot of ambiguity. Depending on whom you ask, you'll encounter vastly different viewpoints and applications. Some people think AI will completely change industries, make things more efficient, and reveal new discoveries. However, others worry it might take away many jobs and even trigger an existential crisis leading to humanity's downfall. In the midst of all these different opinions, it's important to understand a clear truth: much of the discourse surrounding AI is driven by individuals with only a superficial grasp of the technology, if any at all. Across boardrooms and social media platforms, many people talk about AI, but very few really understand what it can and can't do. Unfortunately, too much hype about AI can overshadow genuine discussions about how to use it wisely and the actual good things it can do.

AI is the New Cyber

In the early 2000s, "Cyber" was the epitome of technological coolness. It would be slapped onto everything for increased hype and marketing value. However, this phenomenon is not unique to that time. In the past, it was common practice to slap the letter ‘E’ in front of everything to make it more electrifying. The remnants of this practice linger in terms like e-books, e-mails, and e-commerce. However, in 2024 the words e-charity, e-mourning, or e-wellness have faded into obscurity. More recently, the 'smart' prefix has taken center stage, becoming an integral part of product names to denote enhanced functionality beyond their traditional counterparts. While smartphones and smartwatches are household names, smart beds, smart diapers, and smart umbrellas have also made their way onto the market.

Buzzword Overload

Sometimes, these prefixes are functionally relevant to distinguish between things that are inherently different, e.g. security and cyber security. However, in many cases, mere progress doesn’t necessitate a new name. Modern-day cars with apps and an internet connection are not called smart cars, and there is no reason for it. Although, we shouldn’t be surprised if somebody already called their car a smart car. Nowadays, AI is the latest buzzword. A relaunch of those earlier mentioned smart products would now be called an AI-powered bed with AI-r mattress technology, dAIpers, or an umbrellAI. Much like its predecessor, AI is often wielded more as a marketing tool than a genuinely transformative technology. The result? Misconceptions, inflated expectations, and a slew of solutions that fall short of their promised potential.