Xurpas launches AI unit
Listed technology firm Xurpas Inc. has recently launched its new artificial intelligence and data science unit Xurpas AI Lab (XAIL) to ride the AI wave sweeping the globe.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Xurpas said AI is presently making its way into industries around the world but the Philippines is lagging behind in readiness and adoption vis-à-vis other regional players.
In a recent report published by global tech giant, Salesforce, the country ranks last in overall AI readiness among twelve countries assessed across the Asia-Pacific region.
The study looked at factors such as digital evolution, digital governance, the number of AI startups, and human capital to determine each country’s overall score.
It is reported that businesses that have successfully leveraged AI saw the biggest gains in productivity. A report from the Nielsen Norman Group referred to a study conducted in 2023 which showed that AI can potentially improve employee performance by at least 66 percent.
“AI is unlocking the potential of industries around the globe, and to stay competitive, Philippine businesses need to seriously consider how they can integrate AI into their operations as well as train their workforce to adapt these new innovations,” said Xurpas Chief Technology Officer and XAIL General Manager Fernando Jude Garcia.
Launched late last year, XAIL provides data science and consulting services, along with a range of AI solutions, to help businesses leverage the power of data with AI to solve real- world business problems and unlock opportunities to gain lasting strategic advantage.
As the country has yet to catch up with neighboring nations in terms of readiness for AI, XAIL sees immense potential for the Philippines not just in being on par with the rest of the region but also, in taking the lead in a few years’ time.
“All it takes is the proper foundational support to ensure the AI adoption is done right. We at XAIL are more than ready to provide exactly that. We won’t stop at just one industry. We want to empower all sectors to lean into AI,” said Garcia.
While the tech sector is noticeably far ahead with regard to AI maturity, AI adoption is also steadily growing across all other industries.
For instance, marketers now use AI for content generation, customer service chatbots, e- commerce, programmatic advertising, and audience segmentation. A 2023 McKinsey report predicted that marketing is one of the four business areas that stood to enjoy the greatest gains from AI.
Manufacturers are also increasingly leveraging AI and machine learning to raise their throughput, optimize their supply chain, and accelerate research and development.
In the banking and financial services sector, AI allows businesses to quickly detect anomalies and deviant cases, prevent fraudulent activities, and make faster decisions backed by data and analytics.
In the Philippines, the public sector is also seeing the value of AI. The Asian Institute of Management Analytics, Computing, and Complex Systems Laboratory and Master of Science in Data Science program worked on two projects that aimed to improve service delivery in two government agencies – the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Freedom of Information Project Management Office.
They helped the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas build an AI-driven decision support tool that cut down the evaluation and validation time of 2,000 financial statements that normally took 20,000 man-hours to just 11 minutes.
They assisted the Freedom of Information Project Management Office in implementing AI to reduce the turnaround time per request from 2 to 4 days to 32 seconds.
“In the grander scheme of things, AI can really help the country’s economy grow at a pace faster than what we’ve seen before,” Garcia said.
However, Garcia also emphasized that, for AI to be fully implemented in the Philippines, businesses must recognize that adapting the technology is distinctly different from conventional software deployment.
"It's not plug-and-play," Garcia noted, adding that successful adoption involves setting pragmatic expectations, understanding the total cost of ownership, and reshaping enterprise data management.
He also underscored the pivotal role of skilled individuals in operating and training AI platforms. "For an organization's AI platform to consistently perform at its best, the individuals operating it need to undergo upskilling," Garcia noted.
But XAIL’s highly collaborative and practical approach to implementing AI will ensure that all levels of business, regardless of their current state, will be empowered to make the change with AI.
“We at XAIL are looking to take real, practical steps toward AI alongside our valued clients and partners. We recognize that since AI is quite new, trust is a factor that is paramount for people, whether it’s the consumer or business owner,” said Garcia.
He added that, “With a comprehensive set of services and products designed to achieve tangible success for our clients, we aim to become the top partner for AI enablement in the Philippines who will help local industries navigate this quickly evolving landscape.”