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July 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 2
Russian AI segment set to outstrip global competition
is set to be worth $1.2 trillion, growing by 70% year on year, while by 2022, its value is expected to reach just under $4 trillion, according to a recent study by Gartner.
At this point, however, Russia accounts for only
a tiny slice of the pie. In 2017, the country's AI segment was worth just RUB700mn ($11.2mn), including spending on complex projects that may include an AI-based solution as a component.
On a similar note, a study by PwC revealed that only 35% of Russian companies invested in AI technologies last year, compared with the global average of 54%.
However, the situation is likely to change dramati- cally, with 74% of Russian companies investing
in AI by 2020, a figure that is set to surpass that year's predicted global average of 63%, PwC said.
The Russian union of industrialists and entrepre- neurs forecast that the country's AI sector will be worth $380mn by 2021.
Individual segments are likely to grow at an even higher pace. For instance, the AI-based speech and voice recognition segment is to grow by 200% annually, Just AI projected.
Among factors contributing to increased use of AI are declining costs of professionals in that area – although they are still more expensive than many other IT professionals – and cheaper computing capacities.
Overall, AI-based technologies are applied in Russia in roughly the same areas as elsewhere in the world.
Predictably, IT giants were among the first to look into the technology. Yandex, often referred to as
"the Russian Google," applies AI to several areas, including its content recommendation service Yandex.Zen, which is projected to post RUB4bn
in revenues in 2018.
Yandex.Zen feeds to users AI-selected content, which also includes links to content providers such as publishers, authors, and brands. Later this year, Yandex plans to extract Yandex.Zen to a separate division of the company.
Last month, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab teamed up with Itelma, a Russian scientific industrial holding specialising in the production of a broad range of the automobile components, to launch a joint venture for development of smart automobile systems that rely heavily
on the most advanced technologies, such as digital twins and AI.
Earlier this year, AddVenture and Target Global Fintech Opportunities injected RUB60mn to sup- port Pravoved.ru, a legal consulting platform powered by machine learning and AI.
The financial sector has also made considerable progress in embracing AI.
The major lender Binbank is using AI for predictive analysis in marketing communications, which allowed it to cut costs on attracting new customers by two-thirds, the lender said.
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