Confirmed Companies

ELEMENT DATA
elementdata.com

The company
Element Data Inc. is creating an artificial intelligence, machine learning based technology platform called Decision Insights Computation Engine, known as DICE, that provides unprecedented insights into the why of human decision-making and uncovers the factors that drive predictable outcomes. DICE does this by tapping into options, criteria, biases, and conditions that form the basis for any given decision and all considered alternatives. It is then delivered in a detailed compilation of analytics and psychographic and demographic insights – allowing individuals and organizations to influence their larger decisions.

Meeting with
Cyrus Krohn, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Element Data. Cyrus Krohn has been a cutting-edge communicator, digital innovator and new media executive for over 20 years. Krohn’s professional experiences include producing live television shows for CNN, pioneering new media businesses for Microsoft, and creating start-up companies pushing technology boundaries. He sold his prior start-up, Crowdverb, to the world’s largest communication services group, WPP. In 2013 Krohn was named as one of the top 50 digital political strategists in the United States.

Relevance
Using artificial intelligence for big data analytics and streamlining decision processes is a huge trend in the US media landscape.

Link
>> Background information <<

Video
Krohn spoke at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City, 2013 on the topic of understanding human emotion through digital signals. 

MICROSOFT

Our visit at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond will be focused mainly on the topics artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, cloud technology and the culture of innovation in a large company.

Meeting with
As a keynote speaker, we were able to obtain James Whittaker. At Microsoft, he carries the titles “Technical Evangelist” and “Distinguished Engineer”. He was instrumental in developing the Bing information platform and is now mainly occupied with analyzing the implications of the internet of things and artificial intelligence. James Whittaker combines his great experience with his talents as a speaker and storyteller. He can envision in captivating detail the scenarios of life augmented by machines.

We have also been able to confirm Elad Ziklik. Group Manager, Azure Machine Learning Applications at Microsoft. His specialties are product and engineering leadership, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and bots. He will talk about how Microsoft uses AI and machine learning to analyse text and images and make connections and give recommendations for clients and users.

In Microsoft’s “Digital Living Room” (Microsoft Envisioning Center) we will experience future media usage scenarios. Click here for further information.

Link
>> Video with James Whittaker <<
>> Microsoft Cognitive Services <<

CONTEXTLY
contextly.com

The company
Contextly is an engagement platform for publishers. The plattform utilizes artifical intelligence to show relevant content to users of websites, newsletters, apps und messenger bots without surfacing inferior links. In 2012, Contextly belonged to the first cohort of startups that graduated from the incubator program Matter VC. Contextly now has more than 1,000 clients. Among them are publishers such as Make, Gatehouse Media und AH Belo Corporation (Dallas Morning News) and the public TV network PBS.

Meeting with
Ryan Singel, co-founder and CEO. Before founding Contextly, Ryan Singel was a reporter for Wired magazine for 10 years. His beat was the internet, startups and tech innovation. Furthermore, he developed search enginges and databases.

Relevance
Premium audience engagement ist often expensive and time consuming. Contextly shows how algorithms can be used without turning websites into graveyards of inferior links.

Link
>> Contextly Review - Build A Loyal Audience Through Engagement Tools? <<

Video
with Speaker Ryan Singel

FACEBOOK

We will visit Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park. In 2017, the focus of our visit will be live video, 360 video, integration of Oculus and virtual reality, Facebook’s strategies against fake news and hate speech. Speakers will be announced as soon as possible.

GOOGLE

A visit to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View ist confirmed, speakers will be confirmed as soon as possible. These discussion topics are of particular interest:

• Google Home, voice recognition and zvoice controlled computing - which role can publishers expect to play in a new voice controlled user surface and how should they prepare for the audio controlled internet?
• Google Assistant and AI
• Virtual reality platform for Android
• Waymo, autnonomous driving and  sensors - how will media content fit into an environment when the car is autonomous and the driver has free use of his mind and his hands?
• Google News and the upcoming elections in Germany

LINKED IN
linkedin.com

The company
The business network LinkedIn has more than 500 million members in over 200 countries. It was acquired by Microsoft in 2016. LinkedIn is working continously towards its goal to be much more than an address book and a network of business contacts. It is striving to be more attractive through aggregating relevant content. LinkedIn publishes more than 100,000 business articles per week. The platform is evolving into an innovative publisher and furthermore into a data specialist. With its new personalized statistics (“My Network”), LinkedIn is striving to further prolong the duration of visits to its platform. LinkedIn sells enriched data sets to third parties such as recruiters.

Meeting with
Christian Byza (Senior Product Manager). A few years ago, he moved from Germany into Silicon Valley and has been head of content partnerships and strategies since then. He speaks German, knows both worlds and can explain LinkedIn’s strategy for media partnerships from a transatlantic perspective.

Relevance
LinkedIn efficiently utilizes Big Data to create more relevance in connecting its users and showing personalized content in user feeds. It proves that relevant sets of aggregated data are an asset that can be monetized though sales to third parties.

Link
>> LinkedIn hits 500M member milestone for its social network for the working world <<

MATTER VC
matter.vc

The company
Matter VC is a venture capital firm und incubator. Founded in 2012, Matter has incubated 50 Startups through investments and its five month intensive program at its headquarters in San Francisco and its newer incubator in New York. Via a rigorous application program, Matter seeks startups that are a good fit for each other and complement each other. Design Thinking is the common thread through the whole program. Matter VC is specialized in media relevant startups and strives to work towards an informed and networked civic society (“Media that Matters”). Matter cooperates with the news agency AP and the public radio station KQED. Several Startups that graduated from the Matter program have been acquired by larger companies, e.g. Zeega by Buzzfeed, Huzza by Kickstarter and Parlio by Quora.

Meeting with
Gründer and CEO Corey Ford

Relevance
Matter VC was the model for the Next Media Accelerator in Hamburg. To learn from Matter means to learn how to employ the principles of design thinking (openness and constant feedback, rapid prototyping and market entry, rapid iteration) for media innovation and media startups.

Video

STATSBOT
statsbot.co

The company
StatsBot helps companies to analyse metrics such as Google Analytics. Its „Software as a Service“ (SaaS) utilizes algorithms that can translate code into natural language and vice versa. StatsBot provides data in real time that can be used by media companies to facilitate routines and streamline conferences. Data queries via StatsBot can be integrated into the messenger platform Slack. One of the most popular use cases of StatsBot are physical or virtual meetings in which the algorithm plays the role of an assistant providing data. One of the stakeholders of StatsBot is the New Yorker Incubator Betaworks.

Meeting with
Founder Mike Melanin

Relevance
StatsBot is an excellent example for artificial intelligence that doesn’t make humans superfluous but augments human intelligence. StatsBot’s algorithms take on assistant jobs and provide data in real time for more efficient work routines in publishing companies.

Link
>> Statsbot helps businesses pull their data into Slack <<

Video
Founding team

THUNKABLE
thunkable.com

The company
Thunkable is a drag and drop platform for native mobile applications that don’t require coding skills. The startup spawned form an MIT workshop. Its plattform has an impressive tool box with premium design elements und a lean user interface. Thunkable enables users to integrate maps, sensors, and aspects of artificial intelligence such as speech and image recognition into apps. They can then be monetised via Thunkable’s own advertising platform. An engaged community of users enriches the plattform with their own tips and ideas.

Meeting with
Founder and CEO Arun Saigal

Relevance
Not every mobile publisher needs to invent the wheel all over again in order to stay up to date with his mobile publishing needs. A well designed and customizable ready-made solution is in many cases good enough even for professional publishers.

Link
>> MIT Project Becomes Thunkable Drag-and-Drop Mobile Dev Tool <<

Video
Founder

VOLUMETRIC STUDIO

Microsoft’s (brand new and still nameless) volumetric studio serves to augment real with virtual 3D-footage, e.g. for usage in apps or Windows 10 PCs that can process AR. The studio is equipped with 106 3D-Kameras. Clients can use AR footage for training puprposes or to increase user engagement. The Studio operates platform-neutral. AR content can be viewed with Microsoft’s own Hololens AR headset (which is currently only available for businesses and developers) or with third party AR headsets.

Video