By Sanjiv Goyal with Jishnu Bhattacharjee

In this article, you will learn about:

• The power and implications of APIs.
• Platforms that make entrepreneurialism a breeze.
• Why making a difference is easier than ever.
• The benefits of a digital world.
• How tech is changing the way we give back.

Digitalization is the Name of the Game

The central theme in our worldly evolution is the digitalization of every sphere of the economy. Education, healthcare, financial services, logistics, transportation, content, and media,- it’s all going online and the COVID pandemic is expediting the process.

With the expansion of every industry and facet of our lives into the digital realm come loads of business opportunities. The world has changed. A high school student can develop something phenomenal with a few lines of code.

We are increasingly using software to solve everyday problems. And creating those solutions has been vastly simplified by the cloud infrastructure. Now you don’t even need your own servers. This creative digital explosion has been further accelerated by two trends: advancements in AI and building software through APIs.

I sat down with IIT alumnus and venture capitalist Jishnu Bhattacharjee to learn about the tech trends entrepreneurs can be excited about.

AI and API: The Gamechangers

API stands for Application Programming Interface. It enables less sophisticated programmers or nonprogrammers to easily build software.

API can be understood as a series of building blocks. If you know what you are trying to make all you have to do is acquire the blocks to build it. You don’t need to know what those blocks are made of or how they function. In essence, API gives creative license to nonexperts.

In the same way that you don’t need to know all of the intricacies of a social media platform to use it, you can make use of API without knowing everything there is to know. API makes software creation accessible to everyone. Now the average person can use the software without spending years learning what the software is or how to make it.

The second trend is AI advancements. These days you need to be able to bring intelligence into your business. With platforms like H2O, it is easy to build AI into your business without needing to know the intricacies of how machine learning is actually implemented. AI coupled with APIs is creating an ideal environment to produce the new-age software needed to digitalize our lives.

The Implications of APIs and AI for Entrepreneurs

Now anyone with a big idea can easily get a business off the ground with the tools available, and the process is becoming easier and easier.

If you can identify the right problem and the right solution, then technology has simplified the how. Entrepreneurialism is more accessible to the average person than ever before. You don’t need years of school or experience, you just need critical thinking skills and a good idea.

The Companies to Watch

Here are some examples of the types of leaps that AI advancements and API’s have made possible. Platforms like Postman, Kaltura, and H2O AI are enabling entrepreneurs to dream bigger and do more.

Postman has grown to a 2 billion dollar company and one-third of developers are using their products. They are at the forefront of API development.

Kaltura has facilitated to shift to online learning like no other company. More than 50% of online education in the U.S. is running on Kaltura including institutions like Stanford, Georgia Tech, and MIT.

The goal of H2O AI is to democratize AI for everyone. It is an open-source platform that makes AI accessible and fosters exploration, learning, and creation.

These are the companies that are giving budding entrepreneurs the resources they need to have a profound impact and imagine new worlds. You don’t need the infrastructure or the team you once did to get started.

Tech is Changing How We Give Back

For those who want to make a difference more than just making a donation, but don’t have the time or resources to start their own organization, there is now a middle ground: you can donate your time right from home. This is yet another example of how digitalization is changing the face of every industry.

Entrepreneurs and problem solvers aren’t usually satisfied with writing a check. They are a hands-on group. Being charitable is easier and more efficient and pleasurable than ever now through platforms like Goodera.com.

With Goodera, people can offer their services and teach the skills they have mastered. It’s essentially a crowdsourcing platform for volunteering for nonprofits. There are now even more ways to answer the question: How can I give back?

The greatest benefit of this is that people are able to volunteer what they are best at. The platform allows people to offer what they are passionate about in the service of others, which is a highly fulfilling way to engage in charity work.

The Implications of AI on Innovation

Increasingly, we are outsourcing the job of thinking to computers. This frees up our intellects to focus on new frontiers of thought. Just like outsourcing your cooking or cleaning leaves you with more time to focus on important projects or time with your family, delegating basic calculations and functions to a machine can free up our creative focus.

If we use AI in efficient and ethical ways, we can free our minds up to give attention to and solve the most important problems facing society. AI isn’t here to take your job, it’s here to help humanity evolve.

Now is the time to unite our efforts and solve global problems like cancer, climate change, and the spread of COVID 19. With the right intentions and an exciting vision, we can effectively use digital tools to create better infrastructures and resolve our most taxing difficulties.

Conclusion

Our world is rapidly heading for digitalization across every industry, a trend accelerated by the COVID 19 pandemic. This leaves many entrepreneurial and innovative opportunities in the software development space. Advancements in AI and APIs have made it easier than ever to start companies and turn dreams into reality. Platforms like Postman, Kaltura, and H2O AI are enabling rapid innovative growth. Digitalization is changing how we do everything, including how we give back. Companies like Goodera are facilitating creative outlets for our altruistic yearnings. AI is the next step in our evolution and we can use it wisely and ethically to solve global problems and find new frontiers.

These are the types of discussions we will be having at the PanIIT Conference 2020 on December 4th. You can find out more and register at IIT 2020: The Future Is Now. We hope you will join us.