Latest news with #DataAI
Skift
4 days ago
- Business
- Skift
3 Travel Startup Investors Warn Founders Not to Fall for AI Hype
AI may provide new tools to help solve problems, but that doesn't change what travel tech investors are looking for in startup founders. What do travel investors really think about AI, startups, and the future of travel? In this unscripted Ask Me Anything session, three venture experts answer audience questions – no slides, no pitches, just sharp takes and presumably honest insights. Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit moderated the conversation with Cara Whitehill (vice president, Thayer Investment Partners), Gilad Berenstein (founder, Brook Bay Capital), and Max Niederhofer (partner, Heartcore Capital) at the Skift Data+AI Summit earlier this month. Below are four takeaways from the conversation. Listen to This Podcast Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | RSS 1. Avoid AI Hype. Focus on Solving Real Problems Investors are turned off by pitches that focus too much on AI but lack technical depth or market understanding. Founders need to demonstrate clear insight about the problem, and AI alone is rarely going to solve it. 'It's a tool; it's not a solution,' Whitehill said. 'The things that I look for are founder-market fit,' Whitehill said. 'I want to know that this person is obsessed with the problem — but not necessarily the solution. Because you might have an idea of a particular way to approach this market problem, but once you get into it, you find it's not quite right. They need to be willing to shift gears a little bit to find the right solution.' 2. There Is No 'AI War' Rather than a 'winner-takes-all' AI war, the panel expects multiple players to emerge across niches in travel. Besides large travel players, Berenstein thinks AI creates an opportunity for specialized travel sellers to establish 'clubs' with loyal members. Berenstein: 'I'm really bullish on travel clubs that really understand a specific audience and can put together complete experiences that are passion-based. Maybe the first discovery will go through Google or whatever. But people will become members of these clubs. And then you will have a direct relationship with them.' 3. Potential for Fundamental Change AI has the potential to monumentally change the way the travel industry operates. In the meantime, companies should focus on collecting thorough, clean data. Niederhofer: 'I think there's a chance to change the way this industry works at the infrastructure level. I really would love to see a way where we make the whole industry better, and its underpinnings. There might be a moment where in 10 years we might look back on right now and there's a startup in this room … that actually is rethinking some of the assumptions that we're making about the incumbents, and I include Google in that.' 4. Today's Household Names May Become Obsolete The biggest winners in prior industry-transforming tech revolutions often came onto the scene later in the process, building upon knowledge from the first waves of new companies. Startups based on the future of agentic AI could disintermediate search engines like Google or online travel agencies — if they offer real value to travelers and suppliers. That's assuming that online travel agencies don't reimagine themselves with the times, which they aim to do. Berenstein: 'The key value of the OTA is that you don't have to go to 37 websites to look at all the hotel websites. But if your AI assistant is willing to go to 37 websites for you, then all of a sudden the value of the OTA goes away. The commission can be used to reduce my price, to give me a benefit, to increase the margin for the hotel.'
Skift
04-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
Marriott Is Deploying a Front Desk AI Tool. It Took Time to Get it Right
The takeaway is to start small: 'You don't have to build the most transformative thing overnight.' Marriott is preparing to deploy an AI tool that should automate the complicated task of hotel room assignment for front desk staff. 'Essentially, taking hours and hours of manual work — all that heads down work the associates do — and in a fraction of a second, 1.2 million rooms can be assigned,' said Naveen Manga, global chief technology officer for Marriott International, at the Skift Data and AI Summit on Wednesday. Front desk staff have a lot to consider when preparing to assign rooms each morning: Upcoming arrivals, guests preferences, reservation preferences, current occupancy, length of stay, loyalty statuses, and more. And any changes could
India Today
05-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
Raipur to host India's first AI-based data park. Key details inside
The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Vishnu Deo Sai, inaugurated the Artificial Intelligence Aided Data Centre Park in Nava Raipur on May 4, 2025. This first-of-its-kind project in the country has been initiated with an estimated Rs 1,000 crore in funding which will be spent over the next two years. The park covers an area of 13.5 acres, which includes a 2.7-hectare Special Economic Zone (SEZ) exclusively dedicated to AI services. This development shows that Chhattisgarh is making steps toward achieving a major milestone in India's digital is not just a data centre; it's the digital backbone for a new era of growth and empowerment,' said CM Sai. He highlighted the development's possible impact on the life-altering prospects of the tribal community, youth and farmers, and how it will aid the state to be a crucial contributor to Digital TRIBAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH TECHNOLOGYThe AI Data Centre Park is meant to act as an impetus to the socio-economic growth of Chhattisgarh. The facility is expected to provide advanced AI solutions to the agriculture and education sectors that will benefit students and farmers and help the rural population. Setting up the SEZ is likely to increase the number of domestic and foreign tech companies in the area, thus creating an environment favourable for innovations and new important step is in concert with the state policy that is aimed at creating new jobs as well as resolving the issue of the digital gap in the neglected areas of the VISION FOR A DIGITAL FUTURENava Raipur AI Data Centre Park is a notable landmark in the digital transformation agenda of the state of Chhattisgarh. The state intends to improve the quality of services provided, enhance the management of public resources, and increase economic activity by underscoring AI effort works along with other developments in the area, like the creation of Data AI Clubs at schools and partnerships with other educational firms to upgrade school infrastructure. In a broader context, these actions support the commitment by the state of Chhattisgarh to build a knowledge-based economy and bolster the efforts to get to the forefront of the Indian digital inauguration of the first AI-based Data Centre Park in India at Raipur marks an intelligent move towards increasingly advanced technology for the entire nation as well. Chhattisgarh, using AI to strengthen and develop the community and target sustainable development goals, is expected to inspire other states for their aims towards a digitally strengthened India.
