Top-10 Artificial Intelligence Startups in Austria
They say that the main difference between Austrians and zee Germans is that Germans would like to understand Austrians but can’t, and Austrians understand Germans but would rather not. Wiener schnitzel, sacher cake, lederhosen, alpine pastures, ski chalets overflowing with kitsch – the clichés Austria is known for paint the picture of a bucolic mountain nation with strong traditions in questionable taste and zero interest in modern technology. This perception is quite far from the truth.
According to a representative 2017 survey, two thirds of Austrians wanted to develop a strategy for handling robots and AI for the country. The government listened, and in 2017 they established a Robot Council responsible for the development of an AI strategy and tasked with identifying opportunities and challenges in the areas of robotics, autonomous systems, and AI. The council received $1.1 million and a two-year mandate to develop this strategy.
The private sector hasn’t been idle either. Startup Report Austria 2018 is a 61-page report which talks about how the number of deals to Austrian startups has grown by 53%, and funding amounts have grown by 63% compared to 2017. We queried Crunchbase to find the Austrian AI startups that have taken in the most disclosed funding so far.
Founded in 2015, Vienna startup Adverity has raised $16.3 million to develop a big data platform for marketing professionals. The app connects to hundreds of data sources like Facebook, Google Ads, and LinkedIn, harmonizes campaign data, then sends the results to business management platforms via native integrations.
AI algorithms analyze and visualize costs, performance, and returns, highlight anomalies, and recommend optimal spend across all marketing channels. The product suite is available for agencies, brands, and e-commerce providers and is used by global names including Red Bull, IKEA, and Zurich Insurance.
Founded in 2009, Linz startup Robart has raised $11.4 million to develop the AI “brain” of household robots. The startup offers complete AI navigation systems including hardware, software, and attached IoT applications that can be fitted into mobile robots. With the help of Robart’s algorithms, robots can map a whole household, divide it into rooms, establish specific cleaning rules, recognize deviations like an open window, learn user habits, and adapt to changes in these habits.
For example, your autonomous vacuum cleaner will remember when the kids are asleep and won’t bother them. Or it will recognize when the house should be locked and empty, and alert the owner or security services if any entrance is left open. The AI algorithms also allow the household helper to act as a personal assistant, and proactively ask owners about habits, like when tea should be served. Robart’s algorthms are used by major electronics manufacturers such as Rowenta and Kärcher.
Founded in 2008, Vienna startup WebLyzard Technology has raised $6.5 million from national and EU grants to develop a web intelligence platform that identifies opinion leaders and visualizes opinion trends across different online channels like Facebook and Twitter. The platform, that relies heavily on in-depth data research, builds data repositories in multiple languages and uses semantic algorithms to determine the sentiment of target audiences, analyzes these audiences, and provides insights to be used in future campaigns.
Reference projects include the US Election 2016 Web Monitor where WebLyzard’s algorithms analyzed more than 200 million Twitter posts and news articles to see how stakeholders perceived the presidential race. The startup has also helped the United Nations Environment Programme to build a web intelligence solution that aligns global environmental indicators with the organization’s communications policy.
