Vidyasoft is a spin-off of the University of Salento born in 2015 from the entrepreneurial initiative of 4 research professors and an associate professor, all in the field of software engineering. The goal of Vidyasoft is the commercialization of the Wox product, an online platform for the Internet of Things that allows to speed up incredibly the development of scenarios and applications for the Internet of Things. Wox is the result of the members’ research activities and can be defined, as Roberto Vergallo, founder of Vidyasoft, suggests: as “the LEGO of the IoT”.

Vidyasoft also has a business unit dedicated to consulting which has allowed the company to grow very quickly and hire 7 employees. There are currently 12 of them. “This business unit – explains Vergallo – also allows us to listen to the constantly evolving needs of the market as well as to sell the vertical applications of the Wox product such as Vow, the voice assistant of Vidyasoft”.

Unlike the most famous vocal assistants available on the market, such as Amazon and Alexa, Vow is completely independent and can be used in 4.0 industry scenarios instead of in the world of consumers, such as those of competitors. “The first customers we proposed it to seemed very interested”.

In the coming months, there will be opportunities to present it even more as Vidyasoft will be present at the Retail Forum 2019 participating in the Startup Gate at the end of October, giving it the opportunity to get in direct contact with the players in the retail sector. In the autumn it will be at the Salone dei Pagamenti and, as far as the more technical part is concerned, at the Codemotion and Pragma conference in Bologna, concerning the world of Apple.

In the meantime, he has been working on international projects since the inception of this project. “The first application we made – says Vergallo – was for energy sustainability in California, Los Angeles. Another application we have made and are continuing to make is an app, iDubai, wanted directly by the sheikh of the city of Dubai. It’s a kind of Tripadvisor social requested specifically for the international exhibition of 2020. For the future, we have already begun to explore the Chinese market, thanks to a fair in which we participated in China together with the Puglia Region. Now we are trying to present the same experience in Japan”.

In May 2019 Vidyasoft joined the Fintech District community, both for networking, a very important component as a B2B company, and furthermore as this step is the natural continuation of a process begun in 2016 with Banca Sella and SellaLab, the year in which we won the first Fintech Acceleration Program. Sometime later it created the first voice banking system in Italy for Banca Sella and in January 2019 Fabrick entered the share capital of Vidyasoft.

If you wish to stay updated about news, events and initiatives of the Fintech District, subscribe to our newsletter HERE

On February 21, the Fintech District community is meeting the Silicon DrinkAbout community to answer the question “How is AI gonna change our 2019?“. To provide different points of view and ideas to reflect upon, we have involved three startups working with these technologies: Finscience, Kellify and Userbot.

We asked all three of them how AI will transform our lives in the coming months, here are their predictions. You will discover the whole picture by participating in the event. Sign up HERE

3 questions for Marco Belmondo – Finscience
1) How present is AI at present in our daily life?
It is like a process of evolution of the species that started in the industrial sector and has now arrived in the B2C. What has changed over the years is the purpose of AI: from substitutive to collaborative. I often talk about “New technological Humanism”, on February 21st I will explain better what I mean.
2) In 2019 what developments do you foresee and in which areas?
There will be an increase in the B2B also based on data collected in the B2C. To develop new products and services, companies need to know exactly what customers are asking Alexa or Google Home. AI will be increasingly present in the investment world thanks to “quantamental” models (half fundamental, half quantitative) that show the growing convergence between the digital revolution and the financial world. The challenge is to take advantage of synergies between these two worlds.
3) Finscience works with alternative data. What are they?
Alternative Data are non-traditional, really “big” and often unstructured data coming from social media, blogs, forums, e-commerce platforms, maps, etc. We need specific skills and cutting-edge technologies to work with this data. For example, thanks to AI, data from different sources can be combined to make important investments and also to prevent potential strategic risks. With Alternative Data we monitor not only the “main signals” but also the “emerging or weak signals” that provide precious insight on developing trends not yet evident in the financial market but require the use of software capable of eliminating background noise and fake news.

3 questions for Francesco Magagnini – Kellify
1) In which sectors are AI more present in this moment?
Consumer electronic multinationals are increasingly using devices connected and managed by the AI. In the healthcare sector, patients are subjected to robotic surgeries, diagnostics and remote assistance; facilities in which AI is increasingly present. In the future I imagine it will go beyond simple speech recognition and automatic execution of tasks, starting to understand the purpose and intention behind each command.
2) In 2019 what developments do you foresee and in which areas?
2019 will be the year of technological convergences. AI, IoT, Robotics, Quantum Computing and Blockchain will be integrated into standard processes that will bring unprecedented productivity and usability gains. The cars will become “mobile space”, suitable for relaxation or for a business presentation, for targeted shopping and guided by the AI or for a new savings step
3) How do you use AI with Kellify?
Thanks to AI and Deep Learning we can transform unrelated markets, typically illiquid – art, vintage cars, collector’s items and wine – into alternative asset classes. In 2019 we will release our APIs, making our product available to the Challenger Banks and the Open Banking Platform.

3 questions for Danilo Rubicondo – Userbot
1) How will Al change our life in the next year?
AI, as an emulation of complex cognitive faculties, will not enter into our daily life soon. The Machine Learning algorithms that allow automating smaller domains are however very common since 2010, in eCommerce platforms, for example, or in speech and facial recognition algorithms.
2) In which sectors will AI have the greatest impact in 2019?
The field of natural language and virtual assistants will have a very strong expansion thanks to the exponential increase of IoT devices. I expect a similar trend for devices that observe the surrounding environment and interact automatically, used for alarms or cars for instance.
3) How do you use Userbot and how will you use AI?
Userbot develops virtual assistants able to guide the user in the resolution of a request, similar to human operators in the customer care or front office. AI assistants are fast, tireless and work 24/7 but need to be recalibrated by an expert when the scope changes a lot. In 2019 we aim to make our AI increasingly able to perceive change autonomously and adapt to it dynamically, without human intervention.

If you wish to stay updated about news, events and initiatives of the Fintech District, subscribe to our newsletter HERE