The word “disruptive” is thrown around a lot in the tech world. New technologies are considered disruptive when they improve or replace existing concepts to the point they begin snatching market share. Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) release of the iPhone is a great example — it crushed competing products from dominant incumbents like BlackBerry and Nokia.
But that’s in the past. Our Motley Fool contributors think C3.ai (NYSE:AI), PubMatic (NASDAQ:PUBM), and Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) are delivering the next generation of disruptive technologies, and they could supercharge your portfolio over the long term.
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Artificial intelligence as a service
Anthony Di Pizio (C3.ai): Investors might be familiar with software as a service (SaaS), where technology companies offer their unique software products in exchange for recurring fees. C3.ai is the first ever company to deliver artificial intelligence (AI) as a service, allowing industries of all kinds to harness its game-changing benefits.
Building AI applications in-house isn’t an option for most companies because it’s expensive and requires specialized talent. Oil companies, for instance, would probably struggle to attract bright, young AI developers from new-age tech firms.
But C3.ai can build AI models to suit any purpose, meaning oil companies can still have a tailored solution to suit their needs without all the baggage — and interestingly, the oil and gas industry now makes up over 35% of the company’s total revenue. In collaboration with oil giant Baker Hughes, C3.ai developed a portfolio of AI applications that can predict equipment failures and reduce carbon emissions by improving efficiency.
While oil and gas is important to the company’s business, C3.ai also serves eight other industries and new customers have been flowing in at a rapid pace.
|
Metric |
Fiscal 2019 |
Fiscal 2022 (Current) |
Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total customers |
21 |
98 |
366% |
Data source: C3.ai.
The result is $245 million in expected revenue in fiscal 2022, which represents a compound annual growth rate of 25% since fiscal 2019. But there’s a notable acceleration in C3.ai’s quarterly guidance, with second-quarter revenue growth expected to come in at 37%. Revenue typically lags customer growth because