1/3/2018 On Earnings Calls, Big Data Is Out. Execs Have AI On The Brain.

RESEARCH BRIEF

On Earnings Calls, Big Data Is Out. Execs Have AI On The

Brain.
November 30, 2017
Arti cial Intelligence Earnings Transcripts

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Judging by our analysis of earnings call transcripts, there's only one

hyped mega-trend out there that corporate execs are worried about
and that's AI. Big data's time in the corporate consciousness is
ending.

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If you weren’t already sure, we’ve now moved past peak big data. After hitting a high in 2015, the
mentions by public company executives of the term “big data” on earnings calls has begun to decline.

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1/3/2018 On Earnings Calls, Big Data Is Out. Execs Have AI On The Brain.

But nature abhors a vacuum so as one tech buzzword declines, another takes its place.

Today, the heir apparent to big data is “arti cial intelligence.”  In fact, the zeitgeist around AI dwarfs
what we saw with big data.

We mined nearly 10 years of earnings call transcripts to see just how much public company
executives have AI on the brain.

“AI” and “arti cial intelligence” were mentioned 791 times in just Q3’17. This was a 25% increase from
632 AI terms the previous quarter.

THE STATE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In this brie ng we look at private market trends, AI startups, and prominent industries using AI
algorithms.

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1/3/2018 On Earnings Calls, Big Data Is Out. Execs Have AI On The Brain.

While AI as a term is picking up, we’re also starting to see more mentions of speci c AI applications
and techniques. We looked at some of the more popular terms associated with AI. “Machine learning”
in particular has taken off in recent years as well as “deep learning.” Some of the other AI applications
are slow but starting to take off as well.

The reach of AI is being felt across industries. Companies that you might not expect, including
Procter & Gamble and Bed Bath & Beyond and even media companies like Tronc, are talking about AI.

Procter & Gamble has talked about new initiatives like “Olay Skin Advisor, a new web-based skin
analytics platform utilizing a suite of arti cial intelligence technologies.”
Retailer Bed Bath & Beyond says it’s relying on machine learning to get a 360-degree view of
customers and target them.
Tronc has talked about its use of AI solutions to increase its advertising e ciency.

AI startups continue to enter these new industries as we’ve highlighted in our Arti cial Intelligence
deals tracker. Big Data saw a consistent level of 200+ mentions on earnings calls over nearly 5 years.
Expect Arti cial Intelligence to be talked about for several years to come. Based on actual
investments, acquisitions, and partnerships in AI, CB Insights will let you know who is walking the talk
vs. just talking.

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1/3/2018 On Earnings Calls, Big Data Is Out. Execs Have AI On The Brain.

Note: To analyze this data, we mined earnings transcripts for 6000+ public companies across the last
10 years. Sign up to get access to our earnings transcript search engine & analytics.

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