Tag: Start Up Nation

OM in the News: More AI From the Start Up Nation

This past week, The Wall Street Journal ran three separate articles on more high-tech research coming out of Israel. These complement the blogs we have earlier done on Israeli firms producing 3-D printed hearts (April 23, 2019), warehouse robotics (Nov. 12, 2020), computer vision systems (Nov. 21, 2018), and 3-D printed steaks (Feb. 2, 2019). Here are the latest:

First, about 7.5 million people in the U.S. have trouble using their voices. So Amazon other AI tech providers is working on tools to enable voice-activated digital assistants to understand users with a stutter and other speech impairments. Amazon’s Alexa integration, with software developed by Israeli startup Voiceitt, lets people with speech impairments train an algorithm to recognize their own unique vocal patterns (WSJ, Feb, 24, 2021). Training voice assistants to respond to people with speech disabilities could improve the experience of voice-recognition tools for a growing group of potential users, such as seniors, who are more prone to degenerative diseases.

Second, Israel’s ALYN Hospital is developing a wheelchair-mounted robot arm powered by AI chips designed to mimic the way the human brain works, a technology known as neuromorphic computing. (WSJ, Feb. 24, 2021). Neuromorphic software is programmed to learn about the surrounding environment and adapt to it in real time, enabling the system to automatically adjust the arm’s trajectory and force for precise tasks, such as delicately bringing a cup of water to a user’s mouth. The models learn similarly to the way human babies learn, by seeing an image or toy once and being able to recognize it forever. The focus is on helping patients with spinal injuries, MS and cerebral palsy.

Finally, we earlier reported that McDonald’s paid $300 million for the Israeli firm Dynamic Yield, in a bid to boost sales at drive-thrus and digital kiosks. With Dynamic Yield’s technology, restaurants can vary their electronic menu boards’ display of items, depending on factors such as the weather—more coffee on cold days and McFlurries on hot days—and the time of day or regional preferences. (WSJ, Feb. 27, 2021). For McDonald’s, it provides personalized offers for customers of its stores.

Classroom discussion questions:

  1. Why does Israel have more high-tech startups than any nation beside the U.S?
  2. Why is AI such an important operations management tool?

Good OM Reading: A Start Up Nation

I just finished a book that is a bit outside my usual OM-oriented reading.  Start-Up Nation (by Dan Senor and Saul Singer, Twelve, 304 pages) is about the entrepreneurial nature of the State of Israel.  I had co-founded the Rollins College Center for Entrepreneurship about a decade ago, so this is a topic of personal and academic interest.

          The authors describe Israel as the world’s “techno-nation”, a tiny state torn by war that attracted as much venture capital in 2008 as Germany and France combined.  In 2009, there were 63 Israeli firms on NASDAQ, more than any foreign country.

          So why did Cisco buy nine Israeli start-ups?  Why did British Telecom put up a $3.5 billion plant to make chips?  And why did Buffet pay $4 billion for part of a high-tech tool maker?  The authors’ answer:  The culture of the military.  “You have minimal guidance from the top,” they write.  “It’s the leadership, teamwork, and mission oriented skills and experience Israelis receive.”  Ever soldier is expected to improvise, even if this means breaking some rules.

          An easy, one day read that can help us be better, more innovative managers