This year's 43North competition is riding the artificial intelligence wave.

At least 10 of the 15 startups competing this year in the semifinals that took place on Wednesday have an AI element or component to their product and business.

That includes HeronAI. Over the next 10 years, founder Daphne Pariser sees a major disruption occurring in the accounting industry.

Approximately 75% of accountants in the field are expected to retire and there likely will not be enough people to replace them and the work they perform, she said.

Her startup HeronAI uses artificial intelligence to help midsized accounting firms fill that need through an automated platform that she says saves them about seven hours per account per week.

That time can now be used to spend with current clients in different ways and acquire new ones. The AI the startup integrated into its systems even answers questions in 56 different languages.

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Sharon Cryan, founder of FoodNerd, gives her pitch during the 43North semifinals at the Seneca One tower on Tuesday. This year's cohort of startup businesses competing for 5 prizes of $1 million each features a host of uses of artificial intelligence.

“We’re not trying to replace accountants; we’re trying to fill this gap and lead a new industry standard,” said Pariser, who built her first business in Western New York, before moving to Cambridge, Mass., where she founded HeronAI and works with Massachusetts Institute of Technology on proprietary algorithms.

The startup founded last year has grown significantly over the past six months and now has a waitlist of around 1,600 potential clients looking to use the tool, which allows accounting firms to streamline month-end advisory reporting, leading to the reduction in reporting time.

It goes without saying that innovation is being driven these days by artificial intelligence. That couldn’t be more on display than at this year’s 43North competition.

The 10th anniversary cohort semifinalists also include companies across a range of other industries, showcasing innovation in ed tech, fintech, food tech and health tech.

Eight finalists will be selected Wednesday after the semifinalists all make their initial pitch at Seneca One Tower. Those finalists will compete Thursday night at Shea’s with five $1 million awards on the line.

“This is something that needs to happen,” said Fluix founder and CEO Abhishek Sastri, whose Tampa, Fla.-headquartered company uses multiple layers of autonomous AI software to save buildings, such as data centers, up to 40% in energy costs by connecting facility and HVAC systems.

The subscription-based startup, founded in 2021, is using large algorithms to conduct deep learning and working with utility companies as a way to expand its reach.

BosonQ Psi, a Buffalo transplant company originally from India, is one of three Western New York startups chosen to compete in the semifinals.

The company saves money for aerospace, design defense partners and heavy-industry manufacturers using what it says is a faster and more accurate simulation platform powered by quantum algorithms. It is now working with seven customers including Elma-based Moog Inc. and has formed a partnership with the University at Buffalo.

Founder and CEO Abhishek Chopra said the startup, which was founded in 2020 as his second attempt to find a solution in this space, is working on a $4.5 million seed round that will help pull in more partners like system integrators, hardware vendors, design houses and value-added resellers.

Offerwell, another Buffalo company, is working exclusively with real estate agents to make transactions easier through an AI-driven platform that streamlines offer management and showings and provides real-time data and analytics.

Founder and CEO Simon Mahfoud said he is now working with about a third of the real estate agents in Western New York and about 520 homes have been sold using the platform, which equals around $150 million in transactions.

“Real estate agents are juggling a lot and now, more than ever, the role of the agent is under scrutiny, so agents are becoming more receptive to new technologies specifically designed for them,” Mahfoud said.

Among the other AI-driven companies competing is Cache of New York City, a cash management platform that works with retail banks to focus on automation that can save an average family thousands of dollars.

Cactivate of Boston uses large language models and retrieval-augmented generation to provide marketing strategies for service-based small- and medium-sized businesses that don’t have sizeable budgets for this effort.

Zeph of New York City is an AI-enabled pulmonary rehabilitation and remote monitoring platform used by clinicians to treat chronic respiratory patients.

Additionally, NearWave of Austin makes a handheld imaging technology with AI that helps physicians select the right therapy for cancer patients; Spiky.ai of Brookline, Mass., provides real-time AI-driven customer insights for revenue teams to help enhance selling effectiveness; and xPub of New York City helps enterprises accelerate their business-to-business sales cycles by automating sales documentation using AI.

Lauren Bell, CEO of Cosi Care, delivers her pitch during the 43North semifinals on Wednesday. This year's cohort of startup businesses competing for 5 prizes of $1 million feature a host of uses of artificial intelligence.

The other semifinalists include health food maker FoodNerd of Buffalo, African student education supporter 8B Education Investments of Ithaca, eczema and chronic itch relief provider Cosi Care of the UK, digital health and finance guide CoverRight of Brooklyn and caffeine replacement coffee maker RareBird of San Francisco.

New York City startup Lilo dropped out of the competition and did not pitch Wednesday.

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