On the occasion of San Francisco Tech Week 2023, a roundtable conference was co-sponsored by ServiceNow, HederaHashgraph, Inventus Law, and SupportVectors, with participation from prominent entrepreneurs in Generative AI from the Bay Area. The event, hosted by Orbis86 and Virtualness.io, focused on the emerging landscape of GenAI and Web3, as well as the enterprise investment scene.
The panel of guests included Kirthiga Reddy, CEO and co-founder of Virtualness.io; Kamal Ahluwalia, president of Ikigai Labs; Amelia Lin, CEO and co-founder of Honeycomb; Alex Petrenko, CEO and co-founder of ZibraAI; and Vache Moroyan, SVP of Product and Design and Product Marketing at Observe.ai.
During the discussion, the panel touched on various topics related to GenAI and its impact. One point of discussion was the difference in GenAI entrepreneurship and investment between the US and Ukraine. Petrenko, who hails from Ukraine, mentioned the lack of proper education specifically around machine learning in his country. Reddy agreed and highlighted how GenAI has the potential to equalize the playing field.
The panel also emphasized the importance of diversity and inclusion in the GenAI space. Ahluwalia spoke about the need to bring women along on the AI journey and expressed his hope for more women billionaires who have leveraged AI to generate wealth.
Ethical concerns and regulatory implications of GenAI were also discussed. The panel acknowledged that regulations in this space are still being figured out and advised entrepreneurs to continue building while keeping important considerations like GDPR in mind.
In terms of funding and budgets, Ahluwalia reassured entrepreneurs that there is plenty of money available for AI startups, as long as they are solving real problems and have a differentiated approach.
Each panelist also shared their vision for their respective companies in the next 3-5 years. Petrenko envisioned ZibraAI as a platform for creating various types of 3D assets. Moroyan discussed the role of Observe.ai in providing conversational intelligence for contact centers. Lin shared the vision of Honeycomb in enabling everyday individuals to turn their family’s stories into extraordinary experiences. Ahluwalia expressed his goal of solving hundreds of use-cases through Ikigai Labs. Reddy concluded by highlighting Virtualness.io’s aim to give creators the ability to connect with fans globally and provide monetization opportunities.
Overall, the roundtable conference shed light on various aspects of GenAI and its potential impact on the industry. The discussions highlighted the need for inclusion, ethical considerations, and the availability of funding for AI startups. The panelists expressed their optimism about the future of GenAI and its ability to unlock massive opportunities for innovation.
