Benjamin Stein, CEO & Co-Founder, Staple
One of the ways Artificial intelligence (AI) helps to support business operations includes its use in document processing, bridging the gap between physical documents and digital workflows—an area that Staple is working on.
The company’s AI technology can process documents in over 190 languages with an interface designed to be intuitive and user-friendly. Staple’s solution can be deployed remotely to any location as a cloud-based platform. Its specialised modules, from scanning to workflow automation, address the full spectrum of document processing needs.
According to CEO & Co-Founder Benjamin Stein, this flexibility and scalability have helped Staple to serve multiple markets. Today, the platform has a user base that spans 56 countries, with a concentration in Asia. Its clients include major global financial institutions, Fortune 500 companies and tech unicorns.
“Staple’s solutions are tailored to address specific pain points in document processing like inefficiency, high error rates, and the challenge of handling diverse data formats, highlighting the importance of deeply understanding and responding to customer needs,” Stein says in an email interview with e27.
“The ability of Staple’s solution to scale according to business growth demonstrates the value of designing solutions that can adapt to increasing volumes and complexities of data.”
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Established in 2018, Staple is currently run by a team of 35, including specialists in AI, data science, application engineering, sales, marketing and customer success.
It has raised approximately US$1.3 million in funding from Entrepreneur First and Delivery Hero Ventures and reached its first profitable quarter in Q3 2023.
Stein shares his insights about AI in the market and the company’s major plans in this interview. Here is an edited excerpt of the conversation.
In the past year, GenAI has been experiencing a surge in popularity in the market. How does this impact your business as an AI solution provider? Is there any specific opportunity that you are tapping into?
As awareness and adoption of GenAI grow, more businesses are likely to seek AI-driven solutions for their operational challenges, creating a larger potential market for Staple’s document processing solutions.
The advancements in GenAI can be leveraged to improve Staple’s existing AI-driven technologies. Improvements in language models and document understanding algorithms can enhance Staple’s ability to process and manage a wide variety of documents, including those in over
190 languages.
The evolving landscape of GenAI presents opportunities for Staple to innovate and develop new features or capabilities that align with the latest AI trends, enhancing the self-learning mechanisms of Staple’s tool, improving the user interface, and integrating new functionalities that respond to changing market demands.
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As AI becomes more mainstream, competition in the AI solutions market will likely intensify. Staple’s focus on continuous innovation, unique selling propositions like handling a wide range of document types, and user-centric design can help maintain a competitive edge.
With the increased interest in AI, Staple might find itself in a position to educate potential clients about AI’s benefits and practical applications in document processing, involving more consultative education efforts.
The growth of GenAI can open new doors for collaborations and partnerships, either with other technology providers or with businesses seeking to integrate advanced AI capabilities into their operations.
As AI technology advances, so do concerns around ethics and regulation. Staple may need to adapt to new standards and regulations continuously, ensuring its solutions remain compliant and ethically sound.
What is the next tech innovation that you aim to build? How will they be different and better than existing ones?
Further development in machine learning algorithms could allow Staple to process documents with even greater accuracy and efficiency, involving more sophisticated natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to understand better and interpret complex document structures and languages.
Staple might aim to integrate predictive analytics into its platform, allowing businesses to process documents and derive predictive insights from the data extracted, thereby aiding in decision-making processes.
Staple’s R&D efforts focus on transitioning from “enterprise automation” to the “autonomous enterprise.” Many existing technologies and solutions can automate a portion of any given process or workflow, say up to 70 or 80 per cent, but full automation remains elusive due to the exceptions and variations that arise in real-world business environments.
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Staple’s AI can handle increasingly complex tasks with minimal human intervention by focusing on more advanced workflow automation and exception handling. Developing industry-specific AI models tailored to unique document processing needs of different sectors like healthcare, legal, or logistics could be a potential innovation direction. Innovations might also focus on the user interface, making the system even more intuitive and easier to use, enhancing user adoption and satisfaction. It could be a unique and relevant innovation to incorporate features that help businesses reduce their carbon footprint, such as tools for optimising document processing to minimise energy usage.
In terms of differentiation and improvement over existing solutions, Staple’s future innovations could include even higher levels of accuracy and efficiency in document processing to provide more personalised and industry-specific solutions, enhancing user experience to make complex AI functionalities more accessible to non-technical users, integrating advanced security features to ensure data privacy and compliance with global standards, and focusing on sustainability to align with the growing global emphasis on eco-friendly business practices.
What is your five-year plan?
Over the next five years, Staple will continue on its transformative journey to redefine document processing and data management across industries globally. Our plan is anchored in three pivotal areas: innovation, expansion, and partnerships.
We plan to continuously enhance our AI-driven solutions, focusing on advancing our capabilities in handling a broader spectrum of document types and languages. Our roadmap includes investing in research and development to push the boundaries of what our technology can achieve — particularly in machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Staple intends to broaden its market reach, targeting new sectors and geographies. Recognising the universal challenge of efficient data management, we see immense potential in the healthcare, finance, and logistics sectors, where our solutions can have a significant impact. Expanding our presence to new regions will involve strategic marketing efforts and leveraging cloud-based technologies to ensure our solutions are accessible anywhere in the world.
A key component of our five-year strategy is forging and deepening strategic partnerships. Collaboration with industry leaders, technology partners, and innovators will enable us to integrate our solutions with various platforms and systems, enhancing the value of our offering. Partnerships will also open up new channels for market penetration and customer engagement, allowing us to deliver our solutions to a broader audience.
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We plan further expansion into Asian and European markets and a new expansion into the Americas to service truly global enterprises with a universal solution. We also plan further development of our AI capabilities to evolve from “enterprise automation” to the “autonomous enterprise”. Staple’s advances can support deeper workflow automation by handling exception management tasks that traditional automation tools cannot handle.
In parallel, we remain committed to delivering intuitive, efficient, and intelligent document processing solutions. Our focus on enhancing user experience, ensuring data security, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement will guide our efforts.
Our journey over the next five years is not just about growth but empowering our clients to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency and insight from their data, ultimately contributing to their success in AI.
How can we further promote the safe use of AI in the business ecosystem in Southeast Asia?
Promoting the safe use of AI in the business ecosystem, particularly in a diverse and rapidly growing region like Southeast Asia, involves a multifaceted approach. Governments in Southeast Asian (SEA) countries should develop clear and comprehensive regulatory frameworks that ensure that AI is used ethically and responsibly, with an emphasis on data privacy, security, and consumer protection.
Collaborations between governments, private companies, and academic institutions can lead to the development of safer AI applications. Such partnerships can facilitate knowledge sharing, develop best practices, and ensure alignment of AI advancements with public interests.
Educating the workforce about AI is crucial. This includes technical training for AI professionals and awareness programmes for business leaders and employees about the ethical use of AI, data governance, and privacy protection.
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Encourage AI developers and businesses to adopt transparent AI practices, including explainable AI models that allow users to understand and trust AI decisions and processes. Organisations should adopt ethical AI guidelines that dictate how AI is developed and used within their operations, encompassing fairness, accountability, and transparency.
Given that AI systems often process vast amounts of data, robust data security measures are essential, including secure data storage, encryption, and strict access controls.
Involving local communities in AI development processes can ensure that AI solutions align with Southeast Asian cultural and societal norms and values. Encourage the development of AI applications that address local and regional challenges such as healthcare, education, and environmental sustainability.
This not only promotes safe AI but also demonstrates its positive impact.
Regularly auditing AI systems for compliance with ethical standards and regulatory requirements can help in the early identification and mitigation of potential risks.
SEA countries can benefit from cross-border collaboration in AI governance. Sharing best practices, regulatory frameworks, and learnings can lead to a more cohesive approach to safe AI usage in the region.
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Image Credit: Staple
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