Top Deal: Enabling The Smart Speaker Revolution With AI

Key Stats:

Summary

The Jetson AI team has been selected as a “Top Deal” by KingsCrowd. This distinction is reserved for deals selected into the top 10% of our due diligence funnel. If you have questions regarding our deal diligence and selection methodology, please reach out to hello@kingscrowd.com.

Problem

Retail ecommerce sales in the U.S. amount to billions of dollars each year, and the market is steadily growing. Specifically, “in 2018, online sales of physical goods amounted to 504.6 billion US dollars and are projected to surpass 735 billion US dollars in 2023.”

In tandem with growth in the ecommerce industry is the increase in smart speakers present in American households.  “U.S. smart speaker owners rose 40% in 2018 to reach 66.4 million with total smart speakers in use rising to 133 million.”  

In short, more and more Americans are relying on smart speakers to make day-to-day tasks more efficient—shopping included.  But this technology is still in its infancy, and shopping via smart speakers is generally restricted to reordering, as most smart speaker technology is not equipped to respond, and respond correctly, to more niche demands.  

A few concerns seem to ground customer hesitance in shopping via smart speaker.  These include fear of ordering the wrong product, ordering duplicates, as well as security threats.

Implementing artificially intelligent technologies that are more readily responsive to a diverse set of voice commands could remedy these fears.

Solution

Jetson AI integrates artificial intelligence into a voice-first SaaS platform through which outside businesses can integrate their ecommerce platforms, allowing for a seamless voice-first shopping experience. The technology is compatible with common smart speakers, including Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

Customers can order products, food for example, through their home smart speaker. As the customer orders, Jetson’s AI technology allows for a flexible dialogue beyond that of a traditional voice assistant. For example, the software can answer questions regarding the products or make recommendations.  

This allows for a more natural conversation flow unrestricted by technological limitations. Additionally, like most machine learning algorithms, Jetson continually self-improves with each use.

Jetson also integrates payment into the software with Jetson Pay, making it a comprehensive solution for voice-enabled shopping. In addition, Jetson Pay aims to unify the payment process and can link payment accounts across devices with a secure dual-authentication system.

Jetson’s target customer base currently includes ecommerce retail companies and restaurants. It operates on a recurring SaaS and licensing fee model. Merchant fees are also charged to vendors at points-of-sale. Add-ons, such as developer API access can be purchased for an additional cost.

The Team

CEO, Peter Peng, has previous entrepreneurial experience as founder of Web Elements, where he aided small businesses in web design, graphic design, etc. He also has past experience in hardware and software as Partner and COO of Dyverse, a marketing analytics platform, and as the head of marketing and design at UniKey Technologies.

COO, Fong Wa Mui, has extensive experience in fundraising and investor relations.  She has previously acted as Vice President at Advantage Capital and as Vice President of Private Capital Markets at Barclays.

Competition

Orderscape, another voice-enabled software, allows for users to order takeout from one of the 50,000 restaurants in its marketplace. Though well-established, Orderscape appears to not be using AI technology and is adhering strictly to food ordering, rather than general ecommerce.  

Clinc is offering AI integration with enterprises to build conversational virtual assistants that communicate across channels used by clients. The team aims to penetrate the banking, drive-thru, gaming, and healthcare markets, only partially overlapping with Jetson’s customer base.

GoParrot, another AI technology, has established an online ordering platform for restaurant operators. Though GoParrot integrates AI technologies, it operates entirely on an app, absent of a conversational element.

Collectively, no one competitor integrates AI, focuses on conversational technologies, and operates in the identical space as Jetson AI, though there are tangential established competitors.

Why We Like it

• Prime Market Opportunity: The rise in the ecommerce market paired with the increasing number of smart speakers in American homes makes for an ideal time to enter the market.  

• Strategic, Notable, Partnerships:  Though still in its infancy, Jetson “has secured a contract with GolfPay to process voice orders for tee-time reservations and has several letters of intent (LOI’s) with companies such as Blue Chip Marketing (on behalf of a large consumer goods company) and Volara (a hospitality software solution used by Marriottii). Jetson has also partnered with Amazon Pay through its Global Partner Program as well as Delivery.com, an online platform for on-demand food delivery from local restaurants.” These partnerships not only aid in credibility, but allow for ease of adoption by enterprises, already familiar with one or more of these partners.

• Comprehensive Product Features: By integrating Jetson Pay, Jetson AI guides the customer throughout the entire ordering process, from answering questions, to calculating tax, even asking the user clarifying questions about their commands. The comprehensive nature of the technology remains one of Jetson’s key differentiators.

• Broad Use Cases: As previously mentioned, one of Jetson’s initial use cases is voice ordering for food pickup and delivery. Other initial use cases include retail ordering, through which customers can order delivery and pickup, manage out-of-stock inventory, and calculate the shipping and tax expenses associated with their orders. Finally, Jetson hopes to enter the hospitality space with voice-enabled room service and other hospitality features, so guests have a personal concierge throughout their stay. 

The Rating: Top Deal

Jetson AI is a Top Deal. Backed by a strong team and notable partners, Jetson has the recipe for success. One potential challenge is breaking into the symbiotic relationship between customer and enterprise, as both must adopt the technology for it to be useful.  

This makes for a marketing challenge double that of the traditional target customer-base. For this technology to work, adoption on both ends is crucial. This concern is eased by the strong partnerships Jetson has already established (many of which have overcome this barrier themselves) and the comprehensive nature of its product.  

In addition, customers cite security as one main concern with conversational shopping.  By integrating Jetson pay and the dual authentication system, end users should be more at ease and trusting of the technology.

A positive acquisition in this space is definitely possible. Large companies like Amazon and Apple have been snatching up conversational technology startups left and right to aid in the grooming of their own voice assistants. For example, in February of 2019 Pullstring, an SF conversational technology startup was acquired by Apple.

With its ideal market timing, strong partnerships, broad use cases, and key differentiators, Jetson AI is a KingsCrowd Top Deal.