Founder's Thoughts with Alex Hawkinson

BrightAI is ushering in the next big tech revolution through its better-than-human-sensing technology.

Founder's Thoughts with Alex-Hawkinson text on black background with headshot of alex hawkinson

The next major tech revolution has arrived, and BrightAI is leading the charge.

Major advances in Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things have finally enabled these breakthrough technologies to work together. BrightAI has merged AI and IoT to create AIoT, and it’s already disrupting traditional businesses across many legacy industries.

We talked to BrightAI co-founder Alex Hawkinson about how AIoT will usher in transformations that change complex physical businesses forever.

How is AIoT the most exciting technology wave of our time?

AIoT is basically the start of a new industrial revolution. We're at a point where multiple large technology waves are maturing in a way that's really profound.

IoT has developed to where better-than-human sensing can now monitor and control physical environments. Couple that with deep learning and AI, and we’re able to bring intelligence to physical spaces in a way that was simply not possible before.

That’s what makes AIoT so powerful. We can now reach into these large enterprises that were previously untouched by technology and unlock huge opportunities for growth. We can make products and services better in every facet of the economy, and we can uncover insights that are great for the world. AIoT is making the world itself smarter.

 

Tell us about the unique platform BrightAI is building?

BrightAI is creating a breakthrough platform that allows companies to get in front of problems before they arise. This really lets businesses stand out and become the best version of themselves.

Take our HVAC client, for example. A hot day would come in the summer, and all their systems would break. They could barely service their customers because they were so busy fixing all these broken machines.

Now, using the BrightAI platform, they can predict issues in advance. So instead of being forced to react to a crisis, they can proactively prevent system shutdowns. They can route their best workers to the right spot, at the right time, with the right parts. That way, they make sure their customers stay comfortable—and happy. And since their best workers aren’t overwhelmed with crises, they are available to actually pick up new customers and grow their business.

So AIoT moved them from being a reactive business that's always problem solving, to a completely proactive business. Before, they saw themselves as fixing broken HVACs. Now, they see themselves as delivering comfort as a service.

 

Why haven’t traditional industries been able to employ more tech solutions until now?

One of the things that's so challenging about building AIoT platforms is that all of these technology layers have to work together. For traditional businesses, it's enormously difficult to just hire a mobile developer, let alone an AI developer. So in the past, there were just too many barriers for these traditional industries to adopt tech solutions.

BrightAI has brought together the best technologists in the world to build out custom platforms with better-than-human sensing—so businesses can “see” what’s happening in complex physical spaces with far flung operations. Traditional companies now have access to a turnkey platform that can transform their business.

When we first begin to work with our customers, they often imagine that this will take years to unfold. So many of these traditional industries are used to working at a pace that evolves over decades. But BrightAI has brought some of the best experts in the world together with our platform, so we've been able to unlock value in a matter of months. We can make these improvements without disrupting day-to-day operations, so our clients never see a dip in profitability. They only see the upward opportunities around these technologies.

 

How does BrightAI unlock unimagined potential when working with a business?

The range of ways we can unlock unimagined potential for growth and social good in the world constantly surprises us. So often, we have an initial conception of how these technologies will transform a business. But as we begin to make individual parts of a business more intelligent, we find so many additional opportunities to profoundly improve a company’s ability to provide better products and services—and they’ve barely been tapped.

There are enormous opportunities for sensing, predicting, and making better decisions about every facet of operating a business. We see opportunities for massive revenue growth by improving the ability to price, personalize and deliver a wonderful product or service to customers. We see opportunities to predict issues in advance, so problems can be solved before they even become an issue. We see opportunities to efficiently plan CapEx, and to attract better workers.

So really, AIoT impacts every aspect of businesses. It creates momentum with customers. It creates momentum with employees. It creates momentum with investors. Because it unlocks a company’s true potential, I believe it's going to penetrate every industry and every space in the world. It will radically change how businesses across all industries operate.

 


Interested in hearing more from BrightAI’s thought leaders? Discover how our other founders are helping transform multiple industries through next generation AI. If you have any questions, or if you’d like to schedule an interview with any one of our founders, email us at info@bright.ai.