全球语音助理达到25亿个.pdf

Voice: Welcoming the next generation of disruptors Report1 Mangrove Voice: Welcoming the next generation of disruptors “ The best interface is no interface” Golden Krishna After many years of typing on keyboards and then tapping on mobile screens, we are now reverting to the original “user interface” voice. While we are yet to feel the full impact of voice technology, it is gradually transforming how we interact with the digital world. Importantly, this shift will go far beyond checking the weather forecast, requesting music or setting a timer. Voice represents both a platform and user interface (UI) shift comparable to the web and smartphones. And as the front door to artificial intelligence and machine learning, voice technology will find powerful new ways to serve us. At Mangrove we believe voice will be one of the defining themes of the next decade. As well as impacting every business with a digital presence, it will spawn a new generation of technology companies in every category. And together with AI, it will radically change the relationship between human and machine as well as make the next generation of software the most valuable yet.2 Mangrove Voice: Welcoming the next generation of disruptors Voice technology has come a long way since Apples launch of Siri in 2011. Thanks to developments in machine learning, weve seen considerable advances in both speech recognition (transcribing of audio to text) and natural language processing (identifying the command within the text). Indeed speech systems have surpassed 95% word accuracy rate, meaning their ability to understand language is equivalent to humans. With voice offering a far more natural, convenient and efficient form of communication than typing or texting, it is now destined to become the primary interface between human and machine. There are already 2.5 billion voice assistants in existence according to Juniper Research and, with tech giants jostling for position, more and more households are becoming voice-enabled. The number of smart speakers in US homes grew a staggering 78% in 2018, from 66.7 million to 188.5 million with Amazon holding 64.6% of the market. Canalys expects the smart speaker installed base to grow to 500m worldwide by 2023. Voice is also emerging as the gateway to the smart home and internet of things (IoT). Amazon already claims to have 28K smart home devices enabled with Alexa The shift to voice The number of voice assitants will surpass the human population by 2023 across 4,500 unique brands from smart TVs and cookers to robot vacuums. As well as entering our homes, voice assistants are also entering hotel rooms, such as those of Marriott, and are proving especially popular in cars where they are being integrated into infotainment systems. Amazon is in talks with a number of car manufacturers and is reported to have over 1 million pre-orders for Echo Auto, which provides a hands-free experience for everything from making calls and directions to controlling smart home devices. Voice technology is also transcending language barriers. Google now has capabilities for 30 languages including the ability to understand users who speak more than one language at a time. Interestingly, voice adoption is growing even faster in China where Alibaba takes the lead in smart speaker shipments. The colourful array of applications enjoying traction is reminiscent of the early days of the App Store. Amazon Alexa is already providing breastfeeding support to new mums, encouraging kids to brush their teeth, guiding users through workouts, coaching football teams and helping people connect with God through daily prayers. Billions 7 5 3 8 6 4 2 1 0 2019 Voice assistants 2023 Human population3 Mangrove Voice: Welcoming the next generation of disruptors Voice shopping is also growing with Alexa directly connected to one of the worlds largest online stores. Amazon saw e-commerce on Alexa triple over the 2018 holidays compared to the year before. No wonder then that Walmart recently introduced voice ordering for its online grocery service through Google Assistant, allowing shoppers to add products to their list by talking to their Google Home, smartphones, or smartwatches. Voice shopping is expected to jump from $2 billion in 2018 to $40 billion by 2022 across the US and UK according to Juniper. Interestingly, the three most commonly shopped categories through The rise of voice-commerce voice are all commoditized: grocery (20%), entertainment (19%) and electronics (17%), so having “Amazon Choice” status will be more important than ever for retailers. According to OC after all those who From virtual beings to virtual doctors identify as lonely have a 59% greater risk of health decline and social isolation is one of the most common causes of depression. Barcelona-based Safe365 has demonstrated the appetite among the elderly for a tech-driven community and support network. Voice offers a very user- friendly way of monitoring health and cognitive function, as well as providing useful reminders for exercises and medication. Indeed, voice and AI could ultimately replace doctors entirely. Already K Health has built an AI which combines the experiences of thousands of doctors and is capable of accurate diagnosis. With voice technology, it could also provide the comforting and reassuring tones of a human doctor. Virtual influencer Lil Miquela is proving popular among fashion houses.8 Mangrove Voice: Welcoming the next generation of disruptors Investment in voice startups is now accelerating according to our analysis. Voice startups have raised $786m already this year, significantly exceeding the $581m raised in 2018 and $298m raised in 2017. This rise in funding reflects a growing belief that voice technology will be transformative. The size of fundraisings has also increased markedly with an average of $30m so far in 2019 versus $18m in 2018 and $17.5m in 2017. Entertainment and podcasting is one area already attracting significant interest. Spotify acquired podcasting startups Gimlet and Anchor for a combined $337m. Other notable startups in this space include Sybel, which makes premium voice-first content. Mangrove analysis of voice funding Meanwhile Amazons Alexa Fund has made 72 investments since its launch in 2015. Over the last 18 months it has invested in startups covering entertainment, healthcare, education, transport, e-commerce, hospitality and SaaS. This demonstrates Amazons conviction that voice technology will change a wide range of industries. Our analysis shows the dominance of the U.S. in voice startup activity with over $1bn invested in voice startups based in the U.S. versus $118m in Europe. This is particularly concerning given voice technology represents a paradigm shift. European entrepreneurs and investors will need to respond quickly if the region wants to have a major stake in this next key phase of technology evolution. USA: $1008.52M Canada: $69M Europe: $118M China: $100M Israel: $60.75M Funding in voice startups Funding in voice startups by country or region $ Millions 1400 600 1000 200 $30.6M 1600 800 1200 400 0 2016 2018 2017 2019 $298M $581M $786M (1st half of 2019) $1572M (projected)