{"id":338268,"date":"2017-04-13T15:54:39","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T07:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1469116"},"modified":"2017-04-13T15:54:39","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T07:54:39","slug":"accelerator-program-zeroth-wants-to-find-asias-top-ai-and-machine-learning-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/accelerator-program-zeroth-wants-to-find-asias-top-ai-and-machine-learning-startups\/","title":{"rendered":"Accelerator program Zeroth wants to find Asia\u2019s top AI and machine learning startups"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Zeroth<\/a>\u00a0is an accelerator program that is out to fix the lack of talent, and investment options, for artificial intelligence (AI) in Asia, and it has just opened applications<\/a> for its second program which takes place in Tokyo, Japan, in late July.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s almost nothing that won\u2019t be touched by AI,\u201d\u00a0high-profile investor \u2014 and former Google China head \u2014 Kaifu Lee said at our most recent China event<\/a>. And yet, Asia\u2019s biggest firms still lag their U.S. peers on AI.<\/p>\n

Things are\u00a0moving in the right direction but seemingly for a select few.\u00a0Didi Chuxing recently set up a U.S.-based lab<\/a>, but it appears some way behind Google and Uber. Even then,\u00a0retaining talent is tough.\u00a0The recent departure of Andrew Ng<\/a>, who led Baidu\u2019s research lab in the U.S., has highlighted the struggle<\/a> that China\u2019s (Asia\u2019s) biggest firms have in hiring and retain top talent in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Investor and talent shortage<\/h2>\n

Tak Lo, founding partner of\u00a0Zeroth, left his role at early-stage venture firm Mind Fund<\/a> to start the project in 2015, which is Asia\u2019s first dedicated AI and machine learning accelerator program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u00a0wasn\u2019t that there wasn\u2019t enough talent,\u00a0there just aren\u2019t many investors [in the Asia region] focused on artificial intelligence,\u201d said Lo, whose past projects have included Tech City in London, the SPH Plug and Play program\u00a0in Singapore and a stint in the U.S. armed forces.<\/p>\n

The idea is to take 20 companies per batch, with\u00a0Zeroth offering up to $120,000 in optional funding in exchange for 36 percent equity. That\u2019s a slight different approach to its inaugural batch, which took in 10 companies and 6 percent equity in exchange for\u00a0$20,000.<\/p>\n

The program is pretty industry agnostic, and Lo said his preference is to work with early stage companies because that\u2019s where he feels the program can have the most influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission isn\u2019t that all companies\u00a0should have AI, but everyone to be able to develop in this tech,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want it to be in the\u00a0hands of many not just a few.\u201d<\/p>\n

Particular areas of focus include edge computing, natural language, autonomous vehicles, agritech, human-machine interface technology and ethical computing. Its first cohort includes<\/a> a diverse range of startups from chatbots (Clare<\/a>\u00a0and Botimize<\/a>), to deep-learning-powered recognition (DT42<\/a>), social media marketing (Rocco<\/a>) and crop disease diagnosis (Sero<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Beyond a standard demo day, the event was live-streamed to selected investors in\u00a0Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe figured it was the best way to build community and trust in these companies. I\u00a0think it worked pretty well as an overall experiment,\u201d Lo said. \u201cThe\u00a0companies are fundraising, we view investor day as the kick off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Portable Program<\/h2>\n

The first\u00a0Zeroth program was located\u00a0in Hong Kong, but it has since moved its residence in Japan, where Lo believes the climate for funding and investors is better suited to the cause. Indeed, Lo and his team have spent time bringing local investors into the fold as partners.\u00a0Mind Fund invested directly in the program<\/a>, while others, such as 500 Startups, are closely involved.<\/p>\n

However, the program was designed to be portable so it may\u00a0look to other destinations in the future, but for now Lo is bullish on Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an\u00a0amount of patient capital here and the liking of deeper tech is a big pro,\u201d Lo said. \u201cWhere else we go will be dictated on market conditions and where we are after this cohort.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of regionally-focused accelerator programs struggled to make the grade as a business and shut up shop over the past year. Lo is candid that, for now, there\u2019s no business model set in stone for Zeroth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0still trying to figure it out, but the AI focus is one because AI is hot but also potentially acquisitive.\u201d he said. \u201cCompanies realize this is the next thing. One hypothesis is that M&A deals could provide short term cash flow, while another option is working with funds that are a little more long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On the mentoring side, Lo said\u00a0Zeroth\u2019s advisors have \u201ccreated more than $1.7b\u00a0billion in AI company value\u201d. Among them\u00a0is Antoine Blondeau, who worked on the\u00a0precursor to what became now Apple-owned Siri and whose\u00a0Sentient.ai startup is the world\u2019s most funded AI company<\/a>. Hajime Hotta, another mentor, sold his mobile ad firm<\/a> Citrius Technologies to Yahoo Japan, while Skype co-founder\u00a0Jaan Tallinn and dedicated AI investors\u00a0Nathan Benaich and\u00a0Takahiro Shiro are also among the\u00a0dedicated dozen-plus mentoring team.<\/p>\n

Lo said the move to focus on AI has been validated by similar strategies from Y Combinator, which recently announced a dedicated AI track<\/a>, and others who have been increasing their interest in the space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud of the fact we are first, we took a bet and realized this would be good,\u201d he said. \u201cWe may be ahead of these guys and they are more established.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zeroth\u2019s second batch is due to start in late July. Applications are open now until June 15, more details and the form can be found on the website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Kisan\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Zeroth is an accelerator program that is out to fix the lack of talent, and investment options, for artificial intelligence (AI) in Asia, and it has just opened applications for its second program which takes place in Tokyo, Japan, in late July. “There’s almost nothing that won’t be touched by AI,” high-profile investor — and former Google China head… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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