AI at the "Picks and Shovels" Stage

At least if one examines what sorts of startups are getting generative AI venture capital backing at the moment, though artificial intelligence remains in a “picks and shovels” stage where infrastructure creation is foremost, the next wave of applications and features are preparing to emerge, clustered in part around functions such as automation of existing business processes; data analysis; experience personalization; product development and decision support. 

source: CB Insights 

Category	Description	Examples of AI Solutions
Automation and Efficiency Improvement:	Reduce manual work, optimize processes, and increase productivity.	AI-powered robotic process automation (RPA) for repetitive tasks.  Machine learning for predictive maintenance in manufacturing.  AI-powered chatbots for customer service. Some firms already public include UIPath and Appian.
Data Analysis and Insights Generation:	Extract valuable insights from large datasets to inform decision-making.	Natural language processing (NLP) for analyzing customer sentiment and feedback.  Image recognition and computer vision for product inspection and anomaly detection.  Machine learning models for market forecasting and risk assessment. Palantir and Databricks are examples of firms in this category that already are public or at commercial scale.
Personalization and Customer Experience:	Tailor experiences and recommendations to individual user needs and preferences.	Recommendation engines powered by machine learning for e-commerce platforms.  AI-powered chatbots for personalized customer support.  Dynamic pricing models based on AI-driven customer data analysis. Criteo is a public company of this type.
Innovation and Product Development:	Accelerate new product development and enhance existing products with AI capabilities.	Generative AI for creating new product designs or marketing materials.  AI-powered drug discovery and materials science research.  Machine learning for product defect prediction and quality control. Mterialise and Autodesk are established firms of this type.
Decision-Making and Optimization:	Automate complex decisions or optimize resource allocation based on data analysis and algorithms.	AI-powered trading algorithms for financial markets.  Machine learning models for logistics and supply chain optimization.  AI-assisted medical diagnosis and treatment planning.C3AI is an example of a public company in this category.