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Austrian company looking for partner to jointly develop AI enhanced smart office devices for workflow automation in physical meetings

Summary

Profile Type
  • Technology request
POD Reference
TRAT20240612009
Term of Validity
12 June 2024 - 12 June 2025
Company's Country
  • Austria
Type of partnership
  • Commercial agreement with technical assistance
  • Research and development cooperation agreement
Targeted Countries
  • All countries
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General information

Short Summary
The Austrian company is specialized in developing and operating local AI solutions. They are now aiming to enhance office productivity through automated workflows and real-time information retrieval during meetings by developing AI enhanced office devices. They are looking for partners skilled in manufacturing smart office devices like microphones or speakers, to jointly develop and integrate AI capabilities into their products under a technological collaboration agreement.
Full Description
The Austrian company is specialized in the development and operation of local on premises AI solutions, including high-end AI hardware (servers) and software, tailored for enterprises.

In their next steps, they are venturing into further automation of office workflows, specifically for summarizing and condensing meeting information and fetching crucial data on-demand during on-site meetings. This field of innovation stems from an increasing demand for such functionalities, which the Austrian company currently addresses through software solutions. However, the market increasingly calls for dedicated hardware with sophisticated AI solutions. They strive to further develop on this matter.

In this particular project, the Austrian company works on AI-driven hardware (e.g. office devices like microphones or speakers) designed for use in physical meetings to streamline and enhance decision-making processes. This project is innovative as it merges AI with essential office interactions, a significant leap towards intelligent business environments. Thus, such a product could enhance office productivity through automated workflows and real-time information retrieval during meetings (e.g. creating meeting minutes/ summaries/ individual task lists, analyzing summaries/tasks from last meetings to accelerate decision-making processes, creating reports and CRM relations, etc)

They are looking for a partner skilled in the production of (smart) office device like microphones or speakers with production capabilities and market access to realize this innovative idea. The ideal collaboration would involve a joint technological development, where the Austrian company's AI expertise and the partner's manufacturing prowess are combined.

Potential challenges include integrating AI seamlessly with user-friendly hardware and ensuring the solution is scalable and cost-effective.
Advantages and Innovations
This particular project provides several innovative aspects and advantages to users:

Innovative Aspects:
--> Integration of AI into everyday office tools, utilizing finely-tuned, low-energy AI models specific to the needs of physical meeting interactions.
--> Local data processing directly on devices or on-premise servers, ensuring high data security by avoiding cloud-based solutions. The AI processing power will be provided by one of the Austrian company's servers and small processors or CPU power in the end device in order to sufficiently send recordings to the Austrian company's programming interface, process them and return answers.

Advantages:
--> Energy-efficient AI models minimize power consumption, aligning with sustainability goals.
--> Secure, local transcription of meetings ensures data privacy and compliance with strict data protection regulations.
--> Real-time data processing provides actionable insights during meetings, streamlining the decision-making process.
--> Reduces time spent on meeting follow-ups.
--> Enhances decision-making with on-the-spot information retrieval.

Compared to Existing Solutions:
--> Unlike typical meeting tools that focus on digital platforms, this product is specifically designed for physical meeting environments, merging high-tech AI with traditional meeting dynamics.
--> Provides a direct, interactive AI experience integrated into office hardware, eliminating dependency on external devices or cloud services, thereby enhancing operational security and reliability.
Stage of Development
  • Under development
Sustainable Development Goals
  • Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • Goal 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal
  • Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
IPR description
The Austrian company is looking for expertise in high-volume manufacturing of smart office equipment, with

--> Expertise in designing and manufacturing smart microphones or speakers for offices.
--> Capability to produce at high volumes with cost efficiency.
--> Strong supply chain and customer support structures.
--> robust, user-friendly designs suitable for business environments.
--> a small display on the end device would be great, but is no prerequisite.

Partner Sought

Expected Role of a Partner
The Austrian company is looking for a partner skilled in manufacturing smart office devices like microphones or speakers, to jointly develop AI integration into their products. It is possible to jointly develop such an AI enhanced device based on an existing product from the partner or jointly developing a new product.

Following the successful development of such an AI-supported office device, they want to ensure that their collaboration leads to a large-scale production of these devices. Therefor, the partner should provide expertise in high-volume manufacturing of smart office equipment, robust supply chain management, and customer support. They are not looking for consultants or software-only solutions. Cost-effective support from the partner is required.

Some additional requirements to the potential partners relate to:

--> Market Presence: The partner should have established products in the market, specifically in the area of smart speakers and microphones tailored for business environments. This existing product lineup demonstrates the partner's relevance and established reputation in the field.

--> Supply Chain and Production: A robust supply chain and proven capability to handle high-volume production are critical. The partner should be able to ensure consistent quality and timely delivery of products, which is essential for meeting the demands of our enterprise clients.

--> Vision for AI Integration: It's crucial that the partner sees the potential and opportunities within AI technology. They should be enthusiastic and proactive about integrating AI into their existing product lines, aiming to enhance functionality and create innovative solutions for the modern workspace.

--> Financial Contribution / Funding: In addition to technical and production capabilities, the partner should be willing and able to invest financially in the joint product development or open to jointly apply for funding opportunities. This commitment is crucial for scaling the production, marketing, and further development of the AI-enabled hardware. Financial commitment from the partner also demonstrates a vested interest in the project's success and sustainability.

--> Collaborative Engagement: The Austrian company expects to work closely with the partner, sharing expertise and resources to co-develop the AI-enabled hardware. This collaboration should focus on leveraging each party's strengths to create a product that is not only technologically advanced but also aligns with market needs and sustainability goals.
Type and Size of Partner
  • Big company
  • SME 11-49
  • SME 50 - 249
  • SME <=10
Type of partnership
  • Commercial agreement with technical assistance
  • Research and development cooperation agreement

Dissemination

Technology keywords
  • 01001002 - Digital Systems, Digital Representation
  • 01003022 - Smart Appliances
  • 01003003 - Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • 01003008 - Data Processing / Data Interchange, Middleware
  • 01003015 - Knowledge Management, Process Management
Market keywords
  • 01004007 - Network test, monitoring and support equipment
  • 02006004 - Data processing, analysis and input services
  • 02001005 - Mini and micro computers
  • 01004002 - Data communication components
  • 02001004 - Mini computers (small business)
Targeted countries
  • All countries