Businesses across the globe are acknowledging the necessity of utilizing artificial intelligence in becoming a data-driven organization, improving processes, better understanding customer needs, and driving innovation with data. The global AI market value is projected to grow from $47.7 billion in 2021 to $360 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 33.6%. Despite a promising future, most companies are struggling to scale their AI initiatives. Large volumes of data, governance issues, finding and prioritizing a business use case, etc., are common barriers to AI adoption. To combat the above challenges, the field of MLOps has emerged.

I've received a lot of feedback regarding my last few columns about drones, simulations and new uses for artificial intelligence. My most recent column about creating an AI that could task the kind of swarm intelligence found in bee colonies to do some amazing things, like controlling weather satellites, in particular generated a lot of buzz. Much of the feedback I received was from federal agencies and IT companies working on futuristic AI programs. I'll probably be highlighting some of them in the near future. But there was also a note from a company called Hypergiant about how they were working with the Army's Robotic Combat Vehicle program not for some advanced combat project, but simply using AI to help with predictive maintenance tasks.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is nothing new in health care applications. AI can be seen in robotic surgeries, image and data analysis, automation of administrative tasks, and assisting clinical diagnostics. The use of this technology is helping providers offer faster service, more accurately diagnose diseases, and analyze data to identify trends or genetic information. We are now seeing these tools expand beyond the typical hospital or primary care setting to include health care providers like dentists to create a new standard of care, improve business operations, and support public health research in dentistry. I sat down with Florian Hillen, Founder and CEO of VideaHealth, an AI and machine learning company created to improve the delivery of health care services for dentistry, to hear more about how AI is impacting this field of medicine.

This story appears in the December 2020 issue of Entrepreneur. How do you dress for the Pentagon? Most people hoping to secure a contract to send satellites into space would put on a suit. But Ben Lamm is not a fan of the expected. So on a visit to Washington, D.C., the night before his big meeting with Air Force generals, he was at a restaurant deliberating two important style questions: Which jean jacket would he wear? His dinner date that night knew the Pentagon well. It was Susan Penfield, a longtime executive VP at consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton, which does a lot of work with the federal government (as well as with Lamm). "I don't know if it will fly at the Pentagon," she told him -- but if he insisted on a scarf, she suggested one with all-American red, white, and blue colors. The next morning, Lamm thought, Maybe not and threw on his Alexander McQueen -- black with white skulls.

Ben Lamm is the CEO and founder of US-based advanced technology solutions provider Hypergiant. The Texan serial entrepreneur--it is his fifth company--embarked on his most ambitious enterprise to-date when he co-founded Hypergiant in 2018. Hypergiant is focused on advanced artificial intelligence (AI) for clients in a wide range of range of sectors from oil drilling and fluid dynamics to entertainment and healthcare. It has an impressive roster of industry partners: consultancies Booz Allen Hamilton and EY; applied science company Dynetics; software companies Adobe, Microsoft, AWS and SAP; and computer hardware company Nvidia. Likewise, its clients include leaders in diverse areas of the oil and gas sector including Shell, US E&P independent Marathon Oil, oilfield services company Schlumberger, conglomerate GE and marketing and trading firm Pacific Summit Energy.

Algae, that green scum often seen on the surface of ponds, and credited with harmful ocean algal blooms that kill ocean life might just hold an important key to addressing climate change. Algae, much like trees, uses carbon dioxide to conduct photosynthesis, sequestering CO2 as it grows. Hypergiant, an AI products and solutions company, is harnessing this unique power of algae in its latest technology, the EOS bio-reactor which uses AI to optimize algae growth and carbon sequestration. Its bio-reactor is built to hook up to HVAC systems found in large industrial buildings, skyscrapers and apartment buildings which are some of the biggest contributors to global warming from the CO2 emitted through their energy usage and air conditioning systems. The science is clear that we must not only cut our carbon emissions as a means to stop the irreversible harm of climate change and limit global warming but that we also need to take carbon out of the atmosphere to stay within the stated target 1.5 C of the Paris Climate Agreement.

There are only a few ingredients needed for algae to take over: carbon dioxide, light, and water. The ancient microorganism is thriving thanks to record heat waves and fertilizers washed away into nearby waters. But what if a fourth ingredient -- artificial intelligence -- could transform the gooey sludge from a growing pest into a tool to fight climate change? A team of researchers at the AI technology company Hypergiant sees algae as a weapon that can be harnessed for our benefit. They recently built an AI-powered machine, the EOS bioreactor, that takes advantage of algae's ability to capture carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.

There is no longer any credible reason to deny our part in the climate crisis. We are now facing the destruction of vital ecosystems, and every year 12.6 million people die because of environmental pollution. Cutting edge smart city technologies may be our most useful weapon in the fight against the climate crisis, helping us to reduce our impact on the planet in future, and alleviate the damage we have already done. Part two of this series will focus on how smart cities can help us tackle the looming climate crisis, and which technologies will be used to ensure cities continue to be sustainable as our planet and population dramatically change. Once we have planned out cities that are adaptable and better suited to our needs, we can start implementing smart technologies to overhaul unsustainable utilities, transport and energy systems.

Declaring as much is a favorite line of his whenever someone asks what his two-year-old company, Hypergiant, does. What he means is that he doesn't produce anything as uniform and universal as utensils. Were he a purveyor of tableware, he wouldn't have to spend so much of his time customizing products to individual clients or explaining what can be done with them. Everybody knows what spoons are for. Contrast that with the broadest definition of what Hypergiant does in fact sell--artificial intelligence-enabled software and hardware--and you'll appreciate Lamm's problem. Even many people lacking in technological savvy have heard of AI as a force with the potential to shape much of humanity's future--for better or worse.

Hypergiant, a startup launched last year to address the execution gap in bringing applied AI and machine learning technologies to bear for large companies, has signed on a high-profile new advisor to help out with the new'Galactic Systems' division of its services lineup. Hypergiant founder CEO Ben Lamm also serves as an Advisory Council Member for The Planetary Society, the nonprofit dedicated to space science and exploration advocacy that's led by Nye who acts as the Society's CEO. Nye did some voiceover work for the video at the bottom of this post for Hypergiant through the connection, and then decided to come on in a more formal capacity as an official advisor working with the company. Nye was specifically interested in helping Hypergiant to work on AI tech that touch on a couple of areas he's most passionate about. "Hypergiant has an ambitious mission to address some big problems using artificial intelligence systems," Nye explained via email.