Across AI is emerging as a key player in this arena, coming out of stealth to develop a “dynamic memory system” specifically tailored for complex enterprise workflows. The startup is targeting chief revenue officers and sales teams, offering a platform that seamlessly connects with all their internal and external enterprise data sources. This creates a shared “agentic memory” that proves invaluable in identifying and qualifying new sales opportunities, spotting risks, and suggesting relevant questions for sales teams to ask their customers.As Steven Mih, the co-founder and CEO of Across AI, explains, “Sales teams often face challenges in obtaining and utilizing the right information at the right time. Critical knowledge gets bottlenecked among a few experts or gets lost in vast amounts of unstructured data, leading to inefficiencies and costly errors. Existing AI solutions often fall short as they lack deep integration and contextual understanding.”
Mih's previous venture, Ahana, was a Google Ventures-backed company that built commercial services on Presto. After selling Ahana to IBM last year, Mih decided to embark on a new journey with Across AI. He joined forces with renowned professors Dr. Niloufar Salehi and Dr. Afshin Nikzad from UC Berkeley and Stanford University respectively, who have been researching ways to improve the efficacy of AI systems in “high-stakes” settings.
Across AI is designed as a web app and chatbot that integrates with various parts of the enterprise stack, including CRM systems, communication and collaboration tools, and calendars. By doing so, it builds a comprehensive memory and develops contextual understanding. This allows it to provide just-in-time assistance wherever a user is working, without disrupting their workflow.“As the system shows up where users already are, such as in Slack or [Microsoft] Team’s app, it offers seamless support and enhances productivity,” Mih said. The memory continuously adapts, retaining only relevant information and discarding outdated data. This raises interesting questions about how it determines relevance, which Mih attributes to the development of a “deep understanding of the workflow context.”
The system actively tracks, timestamps, and monitors information updates, ensuring that data remains up-to-date and conflicts are resolved. Unlike traditional AI systems that treat all data equally, Across AI's agentic memory system prioritizes information based on its contextual importance. In cases of ambiguity, determinations are escalated to relevant personnel like sales managers or product managers.
Enterprises have been cautious in adopting generative AI due to concerns about data privacy and security. Mih understands this concern and emphasizes that data security is a “foundational aspect” of Across AI's agentic memory platform.“Our memory system operates within the company's secure environment, maintaining strict access control over sensitive information and not exposing data to external models for training,” Mih said. The company plans to offer both SaaS and cloud-premises deployment options to meet the diverse security and compliance requirements of enterprises.
There are subtle synergies between Across AI and Mih's previous startup, Ahana. Ahana focused on enabling users to query vast amounts of data via Presto, handling the complexities of infrastructure setup and maintenance. Across AI is addressing the same problem from a different perspective, aiming to help users analyze large amounts of data quickly.“This experience has deepened my understanding of the challenges enterprises face in navigating complex data ecosystems,” Mih said.
With the integration of KERV.ai, a leader in video analysis and monetisation, and Proximic by Comscore, a provider of audience and content targeting solutions, the Contextual Marketplace becomes even more potent. KERV's advanced, scene-level metadata informs pod-level ad adjacency, while Proximic's integration and the IAB Tech Lab Content Taxonomy, along with publisher proprietary signaling, create a direct and transparent connection between buyers and publishers. This connection brings the benefits of contextual targeting to premium CTV inventory, offering brands a way to deliver more personal and relevant ad experiences.
The importance of tailored ads cannot be overstated. As streaming continues to reshape the way viewers consume their favourite programmes, the FreeWheel Viewer Experience Lab was launched in 2023. This lab aims to inform and improve ad environments across multiscreen devices. The latest report from the lab highlights key findings that demonstrate the power of contextual solutions. Viewers are twice as engaged and have twice as much unaided recall for relevant ads. Relevant ads also result in 5.2 times higher brand purchase intent. These findings underscore the significance of delivering ads in the right context.
For publishers, contextual targeting allows them to monetise their inventory more effectively. They can offer targeted ad placements that are more likely to be seen and interacted with by viewers. This leads to higher revenue and a more sustainable business model. Additionally, publishers can provide a better viewing experience for their audiences by delivering relevant ads that enhance the overall content.
KERV's patented AI technology plays a crucial role in contextual targeting. It captures metadata across every video frame at the pixel edge, enabling the identification, analysis, and matching of context and objects to immersive and shoppable ad products. This technology provides advertisers with detailed insights into the content and context in which their ads are being displayed, allowing them to create more targeted and effective campaigns.