Startup of the Week: Fractal Analytics

Fractal Analytics co-founder and CEO Pranay Agrawal

Most companies don’t have the expertise or the resources to tackle the massive challenges and opportunities that come with the surging amounts of data they are able to collect. Fractal Analytics helps companies collect the right data, uses tools like image recognition and AI to read and analyze the information and then design applications that help clients put the analysis into practical use.

It works with startups as well as Fortune 500 companies. Among the startups is one incubated by Fractal, India-based startup Qure.ai. Qure.ai has created a chest x-ray product called qXR that uses AI to rapidly analyze chest x-rays in India, a country that has a shortage of technicians. The AI component was developed by Fractal, which also is investing $30 million into Qure.ai.

“We applied AI to provide a diagnosis of X-ray images in a fraction of second,” says Agrawal. “Today, it’s being used in India to diagnose and prevent diseases.”

The same deep learning and image recognition technology can be used by retailers to scan products on shelves to make restocking more efficient. Fractal Analytics’ tools have also been used to help a retail customer experiment with 27 different store redesigns to learn which configuration of products and placement would maximize sales, he says.

Earlier this year, the company decided to strengthen its offer by acquiring a former partner, Final Mile, for an undisclosed sum. Final Mile has developed services that harness cognitive neuroscience and behavioral economics to help clients improve customer relationships.

“We’re doing a lot of work around customer experience,” Agrawal says.

In 2013, the company raised $25 million in venture capital, followed by another $100 million in 2016. Fractal now has 1,200 employees and offices around the world. “There’s a tremendous opportunity ahead of us,
says Agrawal.