While headlines continue to be dominated by the evolution of LLMs and their various new products, AI is entering its next phase: industry-specific applications of cutting-edge AI technology to disrupt and innovate in industries typically defined by slow or out-of-date practices.
These vertically-integrated AI startups — that span everything from tackling defective sewer pipes to streamlining how U.S. citizens apply for government documents — bring together best-of-breed AI solutions with a deep understanding of their respective sectors with proprietary technology to create end-to-end AI solutions that tackle industry-specific problems.
Using AI not just to drive efficiency but to increase margin and reduce overhead, these lean, vertically-integrated startups aren’t just at the forefront of the next wave of AI, they’re part of a new wave of investments in the practical applications of technology.
Using AI to make it easier to interact with the government
Post-Covid, getting government documents — like passports or travel visas — in the U.S. through the traditional channels has been complicated and slow, with many travelers missing trips or getting delayed by application errors.
In fact, Rep. Adam Schiff recently noted that “Every day, my office hears from constituents facing terrible delays with their passport applications. It’s clear that the State Department, despite their best efforts, is not meeting the increased demand post-pandemic. Slow processing timelines have caused significant stress, imposed financial costs and forced constituents to miss out on important events such as weddings, funerals and long-awaited vacations.”
But with passport applications up by almost 10% YOY in 2023 and travel set to boom beyond pre-Covid levels, HelloGov AI — a hot new startup that launched in April 2024 — is using AI not just to simplify and streamline the way U.S. citizens apply for passports, but has set its sights on becoming the AI layer for all government applications.
While big travel brands like Kayak and Expedia have added surface-level AI to their offerings to improve marketing and customer experience, HelloGov has created a complete end-to-end, fully integrated AI layer that completely revolutionizes the way U.S. citizens apply for government documents.
The easy-to-use platform has AI assistants trained on the complexities of government applications to help customers at every stage of the customer journey and make sure their applications are approved first-time.
This proprietary AI can handle everything from working out which forms applicants need to fill out their application to checking for the easy-to-miss mistakes that trip up huge numbers of applicants every year. Then the platform pairs the applicants with registered couriers to reduce the time it takes to get a passport from six to eight weeks to as little as two days.
But HelloGov isn’t just for passports. Their platform can also simplify the process of getting a whole range of government documents, from travel visas to vehicle registration documents to green cards.
Building on two decades of experience in gov tech
Between them, HelloGov co-founders Adam Boalt and Steven Fox have over two decades of experience in the space and have brought that together to create a government AI layer that has its sights set on solving global issues.
“Whether you need a passport or vehicle documents or a travel visa, the process of applying for government documents is slow, confusing and frustrating. Not only are the online processes hard to follow, but information is difficult to find and — almost without fail — it requires a long wait either on-hold or at a government office. We saw the potential to use the power of AI to revolutionize the entire end-to-end process to make it simple for the applicant and minimize these headaches, starting in the U.S. and then rolling out around the world,” Steven Fox told us.
To do this, HelloGov’s AI can answer questions, complete tasks and act autonomously on the applicant’s behalf.
“We’ve trained our AI on the intricacies and nuances of government documents so it can answer complex questions, complete customers’ applications, work out what documents they need to provide and check their applications to make sure they’ll get approved first-time,” said Adam Boalt. “But beyond that, it can also communicate with the government on your behalf, chase up if there are delays, track your application for you and even find you the nearest appointment at an acceptance agent. Just that task alone has saved our customers an average of 90 minutes they would normally have to spend trying to find an appointment. Our assistant can find you the closest appointments in 90 seconds.”
Just a few months into launch, HelloGov has already helped thousands of applicants — from travelers needing to make last-minute business trips or vacations to Hollywood directors, touring musicians and TV personalities — get their government documents approved and expedited and is on a mission to become the go-to platform for all government applications in the U.S. and beyond.
Modernizing industries, vertically-integrated AI and soaring valuations
HelloGov is the latest in a new wave of vertically-integrated solutions that use AI to tackle the headaches, roadblocks and complexities of an industry.
With soaring valuations, these practical, vertical-specific AI products are gaining a lot of traction not just from investors, but from customers and B2B partners in industries that have typically been left behind in terms of technology and innovation.
The red thread that ties all of these AI companies together is taking tasks that are typically complex, confusing or time-consuming and simplifying them with intelligent AI.
These companies aren’t creating the LLMs, they’re using best-of-breed solutions combined with proprietary AI training, prompts and data plus a wealth of industry-specific knowledge and experience to create platforms that tackle pain points that have plagued traditional industries for decades.
VentureBeat newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
