Dayta AI is dedicated to lifting retail sales with artificial intelligence

With a flagship software ‘Cyclops’ connected to existing surveillance cameras, this Hong Kong home-grown startup brings smart solutions to the city’s brick-and-mortar retailers to optimize their sales, traffic and operations in this digital transformation era.

Established in 2018, Dayta AI has graduated from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park Incu-tech incubation programme & LEAP acceleration program, and has claimed several awards, including HKRMA Smart Retail Tech Awards (Technology Startups) Gold Award, ICT Startup (Software and Apps) Silver Award and Global Winner of Origin Innovation Award.

Cyclops – a smart software

Dayta AI’s entry ‘Cyclops’ in the HKMA/HKT Global Innovation Award integrates data collection through the lens of existing surveillance cameras and the analysis of data on visitor traffic, demographic distribution and customer engagement.

Over the past years, the product, named after the superhero from Marvel Comics from the series X-Men, has been used in shopping malls, restaurants, art galleries and airport lounges in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Cyclops is hardware-free. The platform can easily start collecting data with existing cameras under 30 minutes set-up time, which theoretically can be installed in hundreds of stores within one week, versus one year that hardware installation would normally require, thereby reducing retailers’ cost outlay.

And with the help of AI, the accuracy of data captured and processed by Cyclops reaches 95-99 percent, higher than the 70 percent level in other similar products, said Dayta AI, according to client feedback.

Creating more value for clients

Besides data collecting, Dayta adds data processing and data visualization with various types of charts for analysis, in a bid to stand out and create more value for clients.

The application of AI in retail sales comes at a time when Dayta AI sees a huge demand for data in the retail industry.

Due to the seasonality of retail sales and the average 2-3 year operation of a store, it is key to know what happens in the shops as soon as possible, said Patrick Tu, one of the three who founded Dayta AI.

With the help of AI, Cyclops can reduce the expenses in hardware, installation and equipment maintenance for clients. “AI makes the whole process of data collection and data analysis cheaper,” added Tu.

Moreover, Cyclops has helped many clients with the optimum arrangement of their goods in the store, taking only two weeks as opposed to six months in the past, resulting in increased sales by 10-15 percent, said Tu, citing the feedback from some clients.

Tu added that some fast food restaurant chains shared similar experiences: Cyclops can send alerts to managers in case of a long queue, enabling the waiting time to be shortened by 8-15 percent, and boosting sales in rush hour by 8-12 percent.

“Smart retail is the best solution when store owners suffer manpower shortages,” noted Tu. “By connecting AI and retail sales, one can see instant improvements.”

After the three-year pandemic, Tu also finds that Hong Kong businesses have become much more receptive to technology, as they see new technologies can actually improve the return on their investments.

Call for closer collaboration

Tu is pleased to note the government’s dedication in recent years to developing the city as a tech hub. While Hong Kong enjoys advantages in its geographic location, a growing pool of talents and the availability of funds, Tu hopes that the government and some key industry players can take the lead in providing more support to startups, including using the products developed by them.

Tu suggests Hong Kong investors could be bolder in funding startups, as overseas markets like the US and Singapore are more open to invest in companies below the break-even point, and take risks in their stride.

But Tu still believes Hong Kong provides a good field for startups to test whether their products are market-fit, before they tap into bigger markets including the Greater Bay Area.

Regarding the recent explosive developments in AI, Tu is confident that ChatGPT will not replace human workers completely, as people haven’t found the perfect commercial application of the popular content generation tool. Tu believes that we should look at AI as a useful tool that takes over tedious work, just as Cyclops can replace human traffic counters.

Looking ahead, Tu sees Hong Kong becoming more data-driven, which will enhance the cost-efficiency for businesses. But to capitalize on the phenomenal tech developments, the city needs to nurture a more robust pro-tech culture, and this calls for closer collaboration between the government and the tech industry.