Human-assisted AI for new generation businesses

Engineer.ai is a human-assisted Artificial Intelligence (AI) that empowers everyone to build and operate software projects. Established in 2013 in San Francisco, the startup has a branch office in Gurgaon. “Four years ago, we started out with a dream to be the connection between every great idea and a fully realised product. The idea is to empower everyone to build their ideas; especially given that only 3 per cent of people are successful in taking an idea to a live product,” says Sachin Dev Duggal, Co-founder & Chief Wizard of Engineer.ai, adding that to achieve this, they went right back to the drawing board on how software is made today.

They looked at best practices across industries and landed on the magic Henry Ford did with his assembly line. “Back in the 1900s, cars were produced by a small group of people that did everything from the engine to the seats. Now, it’s all on an assembly line where different teams from around the world work on their specific areas bringing their respective core competencies to the finalised product. We are applying this methodology to custom-built software by employing an AI-powered assembly line. This line brings together building blocks of frequently used features (“building blocks”) and the best human talent from around the world,” states Duggal, pointing out that the result is delivering at 3x the speed and one-fourth the price. This is possible because the customers do not pay for code that’s already been written 100 times; instead only paying for what is unique and customised.

Engineer.ai ecosystem
BuilderCare: The product offers a warranty that allows customers to get updates to their bespoke software. This solves the problem of third party libraries decaying over time and support to ensure software projects keep running smoothly.

BuilderMarketplace: This enables customers to get a single bill for all third party services used by the bespoke software at a discounted price due to the volume [of service].

CloudOps: In this, completed projects are hosted by an AI and Machine Learning delivery platform that automates all hosting services through CloudOps, and optimises all cloud service costs.

360-degree solution
The platform provides 360-degree solution for any business to operate, manage and scale up their technology needs. “From building software to apps, websites to cloud space management, we provide everything under one roof, both cost-effectively and conveniently,” says Duggal.

The company caters to the new generation of entrepreneurs. “The dreamer. The founder. The non-profit. The celebrity. The brand manager. The small business owner. And everyone in between,” acknowledges Duggal, pointing out their following core problems:

• Cost (they can’t afford it or don’t want to spend the money);
• Knowledge (they’re not technical or don’t have a developer. Alternatively, they don’t know where to start or didn’t even know it was possible!);
• Time (they’re on a short timeline, over an extended deadline);
• Resources (they don’t have a team or don’t want to hire a team);
• Quality (they were burnt previously or heard horror stories);
• Nervous (they’ve experienced horror stories themselves or are overwhelmed).

Highlighting the company’s focus on innovation, Duggal states that in the next several years, they look forward to improve their blockchain foundation and expand their continually improving AI technology. “We’re excited to move closer to three million engineers globally on our platform. We want to make sure the world can bring their ideas to life and where we can help them further refine and build on their idea, saving both time and money and more importantly, help create incredible social impact,” he affirms.

At Engineer.ai, the business model is based on solving problems creatively using technology. Duggal asserts that his, at the end of the day, is the most important aspect of innovation — finding new solutions to existing problems, further adding, “This doesn’t end with our business model, we aim to constantly improve our business processes internally, too, and scale our ideas in a healthy and engaged way.”

The company continues to show healthy profits and has witnessed growth at over 100 per cent year-on-year.