Tokyo startup taps AI and big data to turn customer complaints into cash

Hearing consumers' frustrations may be unpleasant for business operators, but within such feedback lies a hidden trove of information that can be used to improve products and services. Tokyo-based startup Insight Tech is betting on that concept, making what at first glance appears to be a bizarre offer: Sell us your complaints. "We basically buy any complaints," said the firm's president, Tomohiro Ito, in an interview with The Japan Times. The company collects people's grumbles and converts them into big data, which is analyzed by artificial intelligence systems. Insight Tech utilizes the analysis to provide consulting services for firms seeking to market products. "We believe there is an expectation behind dissatisfaction," Ito said.