Hello, friends. Steve Darling here from Proactive, our worldwide broadcast center in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Welcoming you to another live stream event, this time with Nextech3D.ai Corporation, as we talk about a lot of happenings with the company, including a move into India and what that means as far as Nextech3D.ai is concerned. So we're excited to have you along as well. If you'd like to be a part of this, use the chat feature beside. Make sure that you ask a question, and we'll make sure we pose it to our guests today. We're gonna be talking to Hareesh Achi in just a couple of minutes. He is the new Executive Vice President of Operations for Nextech3D.ai. And as well, we have Evan Gappelberg, the CEO. So we encourage your participation. Again, we'll be asking your questions throughout our time today.
Right now, let's bring in the man himself, Evan Gappelberg, the CEO, Nextech3D.ai Corporation. I say that because, Evan, you officially news release out today talking about the name change of the company that really better serves to where you wanna go as a company, I would think.
It does, Steve. You know, we've been, we did announce that we rebranded, a while back, but this is actually an official name change. So, you know, when you search for us as a public company, Nextech3D.ai, you know, the 3D, obviously, is what we do. We create 3D models for Amazon and others, and AI is the technology that we're building to be able to scale. So, you know, augmented—Nextech AR Solutions, previously, you know, augmented reality solutions. We're still in the augmented reality space, but it's not the main driver of revenue for Nextech. And so, this change to—our legal name being changed, I think, really is a better representation of our current technology and business direction. And so for our shareholders, they don't have to do anything. Nothing's going to change.
The same stock symbols are gonna apply, NTAR and NEXCF. We're still gonna be listed in Canada and be listed on the CSE, in Canada, and OTCQX in the US. And the actual name change, which we're, you know, coordinating with the Securities Exchange Commission and, as well as with, the Canadian Securities Exchange, will occur Wednesday, October 4th, at the open. So that's the news on the name change, today, Steve.
Okay, good. We got that, that up to date. Evan, you've talked over the last little while about the demand. It continues to grow. And the one thing you talked about was how you were going to, obviously, meet that demand while also keeping an eye on getting the company to profitability. And they work really hand in hand in trying to, in essence, reduce costs. And that's what today's topics will be about, is a big part of the reduction of costs, correct?
Yeah, absolutely. You know, Hareesh was just brought in to our company recently, and he's now in India. He'll be joining us from India live in just a few minutes. But we are moving into high-scale production. We're really only focused on that. We set up Nextech 3D Solutions India, which is going to reduce our labor costs quite dramatically by as much as 70% and increase profitability, right? Labor cost goes down, productivity is, you know, stays the same or even goes up, and that means that we're gonna have more cash every month coming in. It's a strategic move. It really does position us, you know, for growth for years to come. If you don't have scale, there isn't that much benefit to moving to India.
But once you get scale, once you get to a point where you're gonna go, and do significant volume, and have significant, you know, people in place to help you achieve that, then it does make sense. So we've kind of waited, for this, this time, and it's here now. And so we're gearing up for a record Q4, Steve, in 3D modeling growth, and more importantly, a really, really big 2024.
Okay. Let's, let's bring in Hareesh Achi, joining us, as I mentioned, Executive Vice President, with, Nextech3D.ai Corporation. Hareesh, I thought it'd be a great opportunity just to give you- give everyone, who's with us today, a bit of background on yourself as well. And, you know, you come from some pretty big name places. So just remind everyone a little bit about where you're-- where you've been and, where you're headed.
Yeah. Thank you so much, Steve. Nice to be here. So, as Evan just mentioned, I recently joined Nextech AR. I was part of Nextech a couple of years ago as well. I have... My background is in operations. I worked at Microsoft leading their overall advertising operations, and then I worked at Meta or Facebook leading their Reality Labs product operations as well. Yeah, I'm excited to be here at Nextech in this pivotal moment of growth that Nextech is seeing, and how Nextech is strategizing to rebuild scaled operations as well as reducing costs.
Hareesh, what do you bring with you from those type of places that you worked at as far as Microsoft and Meta are concerned? Because they do certain things in a very certain way, and for anyone who's worked in that type of environment, they like the idea of people being inventive, being creative. Is that what you bring with you to Nextech?
That is true, Steve. Yes. It's trying to be very inventive, trying to be innovative, trying to be finding solutions that are, you know, scalable at a, you know, reduced cost and being efficient in our operations is what those companies look for. And that's what I'm built my experience, 20 years of my experience at both these companies, is in that area, so that's what I want to bring into Nextech.
Yeah. Hareesh, I'm gonna ask you a quick question about why did you leave Meta and return to Nextech? What intrigued you about this particular position? Because, yeah, I'll let you answer that.
Yeah, no, that's a great question. I think it's about Nextech's product portfolio that I know Evan and I have been in touch as well, and I've been, you know, keeping up to speed with Nextech's product portfolio. It's the technology, how Evan has been driving the strategy across the company. It's the growth that is coming up in this 3D AI space that Nextech has a key role and has key technology to play in. Those two factors are the ones that enabled me to come in or made my choice to come to Nextech. It's fun working with Evan. He's a great leader. He's, you know, built this company, and it has a lot of potential. That's what I see in the company, and that's what it was an easy choice.
Evan, on this, I wanna ask you a question because you've had other people join your company from those big ones as well. And as I mentioned earlier, the thing about those companies, they like people to be inventive, they like people to be. You know, but they also have a certain set of ways they do things. And when you're in a company like Nextech, there's opportunity for you to in essence lead more, provide more, offer more. Is that one of the reasons that's a draw?
Yes. So what's interesting about Hareesh, and one of the key, key, ingredients to being successful in a startup is to be a leader, a self-starter, somebody who doesn't need to be told what to do day in and day out, and that is Hareesh. Hareesh, you know, he has a lot of experience working for, you know, a decade at Microsoft, running a substantial team, working at Meta. So he is a self-starter, and that's what is critical for startups. Like, you know, you can't be telling executives what to be doing. They kind of just need to go. You know, also, Hareesh, he has a pleasant personality, which is important. He's very positive, very optimistic, and he does share our vision, as he mentioned. You know, he sees the value in 3D models.
I think, you know, he sees the value in having Amazon as a key customer, and he knows he can grow that business. He knows how big technology companies work. I mean, he worked there for 10 years, right? So he knows how they work, and actually, I'm learning some stuff from Hareesh about, you know, how Amazon thinks. You know, when I talk to Hareesh, when we strategize, he actually knows a lot just because of where he comes from, and so that's very, very valuable. Very... He's a very strategic thinker, and, you know, as he told me, you know, "Believe in two things, God and the numbers." He's a numbers guy, right? He follows the numbers, and that's something that, again, you know, small companies don't do enough of.
So I think, you know, it's very, very important to have somebody who's tracking the numbers. And at the end of the day, you know, it ended up being just, you know, a perfect, perfect timing situation where Hareesh is actually in India now. I don't know if anyone heard the traffic in the background, but you could tell he's in India, and it's his backyard. You know, so he actually has relationships there. He knows his way around. I think I just heard a horn blaring.
Yeah.
So he knows his way around, and having boots on the ground, I can't, you know, I can't stress it enough for our shareholders. Having a local in India, who has relationships, who knows his way around, is extremely, extremely valuable as we enter this next phase of our growth. We didn't really need that in 2020, 2021, 2022. Maybe it would've been nice to have, but we really do need it now. And so the timing is perfect. And, you know, he met with Amazon, and Amazon, I think, got excited when you met with them, right, Hareesh?
That's correct, Evan. Yes, I think, yeah, Amazon was super excited of being... Because they are in Hyderabad, where I am right now, in India. Yes, they're very excited that we are expanding operations in India and especially within their backyard as well. Yeah, that was a great positive sign from Amazon.
Hareesh, tell me a bit about India in general, as far as, you know, technology is concerned, as far as, you know, the growth of it. And this really started many, many years ago, correct?
That's correct, Steve. Yes. I think it started around the 1990s, when, you know, India started opening up for globalization. And then the first one, area, big area that they started off is technology. And because of huge, vast amount of resources in terms of, in terms of people, in terms of educational resources, universities. So you have a lot of engineering talent, you have a lot of technology talent coming out of colleges and schools here in India. That's how has, you know, boosted India's technology landscape. And today, India is ranked number one in the world for talent, especially in the technology industry.
That's what has, I think, you know, a lot of companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon are all in big, you know, the top ten Fortune 100 companies are in India right now. Their next bigger operations outside of U.S. or their home country is India right today.
Yeah. I would just say that, you know, being in business, I mean, you know, I've been in different businesses over the last couple of decades. When you meet people on their, you know, in their hometown, like, I've often flown in around, you know, the United States, meeting with different customers over the last decade or two, it changes the dynamic of the relationship. So, of course, having Hareesh meet with Amazon, I believe, is changing the dynamic of the relationship in a very positive way. And, you know, our goal is to scale our production capability in India for Amazon. And, you know, I think it's important to talk a little bit about the cost savings, you know, the actual cost savings.
When you think about it, we're anticipating as much as a 70% reduction in cost savings. That's game-changing for a public company like Nextech, where those kinds of reductions in costs, and primarily, you know, it's just the cost of labor, the cost of rent, just the cost of doing business over there, if you can imagine, is, you know, it's like a 70%, 70% less, and sometimes more. And so the productivity, you know, as Hareesh was saying, you know, you get talented people in the 3D modeling space, but your cost is significantly less. So we're gonna get a similar, maybe even more productivity for less cost, and that's going to drive our bottom line.
As the AI kicks in, we're gonna be able to scale even further and become even more profitable as time goes on. And that's really the story here, Steve. You know, India's got a great culture, great food, you know, great talent. But at the end of the day, Nextech's benefit to doing business in India is that we're going to be able to scale our productivity, increase the number of 3D models, and at the same time, reduce our costs, both through lower labor costs, but also through the AI kicking into gear and providing us with just more scale.
Yeah. Hareesh, maybe you can address that a little bit as well, just about the cost savings that you have. I mean, you've obviously worked in around India a lot more than other people have, so maybe you can talk to us a bit about that.
Yeah. So as Evan suggested, right, that the cost savings are significant, and talent pool is also very high over here. And it's about that combination of those two attracts many of these big conglomerates, as well as why Nextech, I think we are in the right strategy to enable us to scale our operations. So it enables us to scale the operations, build through the talent pool, especially like Evan touched a little bit on the 3D. 3D is a you know, significantly growing area, and I think recently, Adobe has even released a paper article, research article, highlighting the growth of 3D and 3D artists in India, specifically. And so that's where positions us very effectively to leverage the talent, reduce our costs, and scale our operations.
So that's how we are using that three-part strategy to enable our operations here in India.
Okay, I want to ask you a bit about, about that part of it, but I think there's a really good question I want to share with you, and, Evan, maybe you could talk about this one as well. What does Nextech's move to India do for the work relationship with Amazon? Increase efficiency? Does Amazon share in that opener...? Was it their suggestion that you, you thought about opening up this office, or was this something you were always thinking of?
Yeah. So, it wasn't something we were always thinking of.
Yeah.
Really, it was brought to our attention by Hareesh.
Okay.
You know, so, you know, we always have had some resources in India, let's be clear.
Mm.
But they weren't managed with boots on the ground, right? There's a difference between having Hareesh there and having our team here, and then having someone we've never met before over there kind of manage that team. It's really night and day. So in terms of the Amazon relationship, I'll let Hareesh fill you in. You know, they got excited and they want to come into our office. They didn't tell us to do this, you know, we just did this because we thought it made good business sense. But I do think it is going to solidify the relationship with Amazon even further, because they did mention they want to come into the office. Hareesh has already been to their office. I've never been to their office, so you know, that's already a step forward, right?
We've been working with them for a year. I haven't been to their office. Now, Hareesh is here for, like, a month. He's already been to their office, and he has other meetings set up with them. So this is going to, I think, really solidify the relationship, and the technology piece of it is quite interesting, where they're interested in what we're building on the AI side of the business, and they kind of want us to demo for them what we have. They've indicated to Hareesh that they're gonna supply us with more tools and more technology to allow us to run faster. So, you know, they very, very much want us to succeed, and they're giving us all the tools in their toolbox, so that we can be more successful producing more and more 3D models.
Because Amazon has told us repeatedly, they have to produce, you know, I don't know, 100+ million 3D models. They've only just produced less than 5% of that. So there's still, you know, at least 95% ahead of them. That's a big, heavy lift, especially when, you know, nobody's really producing 3D models at mass scale, you know, hyper, hyper scale, where, you know, it's 100,000 or hundreds of thousands a month. We hope we can get there with AI, but nobody's actually been able to break out and deliver it on that scale. Amazon would love it, wouldn't you think, Hareesh?
Yes, they do love it. Exactly. And I think to add on to Evan's point there, and Steve, to the question, it is about efficiencies. It's not that, you know, it's not, not that Amazon has said anything or anything. They have been working with us for the last 1 year, even though we were in U.S. and Canada there. So, it's about efficiencies. What we gain is efficiencies because there is, you know, Amazon team is here, we will be here, so then that feedback loop, how we can quickly turn around things, that enables us to bring those efficiencies. Two is about, again, going back to the tech talent and the 3D talent that is available here. There is a huge amount of 3D artists that are available and the talent to scale our operations.
So that was, well, when I first joined, you know, pitched to Evan about, "Hey, how do we think about building the operations in India and growing it?" Even if it, you know, it's Amazon today, but any customer future comes in as well, we are ready for it.
Hareesh, can you talk about what it takes to set up an office in India? What is it you're—like, if someone were to come in to... If Evan finally gets on a plane and heads over to India and visits the office, what would he see? What are you setting up?
I'm going to do that, by the way.
Okay, good. I thought you would be. But, yeah, just what, what, what would he see? What are you setting up?
Well, I think he would see a huge, it's, you know, now India or the location where we are in Hyderabad, that we are establishing, is, now called as the second Silicon Valley, of India, kind of thing. So when he comes in here, he will see a lot of the, you know, tech, landscape, all these big conglomerate companies that are already here. Like, Evan said, I visited Amazon already here, this week. So, it, it will be looking at a tech landscape of companies as you are walking down in a San Francisco Bay Area, downtown, with a lot of high-rises, with all of these buildings, with Amazon, Deloitte, Microsoft, Meta,
Nextech.
Nextech, yes. And Nextech is there.
Yeah. I think that's. I think, Hareesh, that's what they. Steve was asking. Like, so if I show up to the Nextech office in India, I think, you know, I'm gonna walk into this big high-rise building. I'm gonna go into the lobby. There's gonna be security there. I'm gonna have to scan my card, right? That's what you were describing, and then-
That's correct. Yep.
And then what sort of... Like, how many people are you planning on having? Is it, you know, do you hire 5? Do you hire 10, or do you-
No, no.
You hire as you need?
It's gonna be, you know, quite significant. I would expect that we're gonna probably get to about 100 headcount. And actually, this is a good time, I think, Hareesh, to talk about your relationship with the CEO of a local company there that deals with 3 D model production, 'cause there's an enormous pool of 3 D modeling experts that Hareesh has tapped into. Again, this is only because boots on the ground-
Mm-hmm.
This otherwise, you know, would not happen.
That's right. Yes, just to expand on that point, Steve, I think, yeah, there are several, as I said, the 3D, and that's growing here. And, so there is a company called one of the 3D training, 3D artist training company that trains individuals and has an academy, training academy, that enables individuals to get trained on all the 3D software and, how to design and build things in 3D. And that's the school, and we, you know, we have connections there and forming that partnership with that company. And that's where we will get the talent pipeline as well.
So our strategy, as we said, to scale the operations, is bringing the talent pipeline from these training academies that are building the 3D candidate pool, and we use them, and we bring them into our Nextech ecosystem, and grow them in their careers and grow our business together. And that partnership enables us to be a lot more agile and also use the academy for even, you know, upskilling our own artists as well, right?
Right.
So the academy already exists, so we can, by forming that partnership with that company, it enables us to upskill continuously. Because artists, as we know, need to learn new technologies, new softwares, and making sure that they are up-to-date, with all the changes that are happening in the software technology space. So this is how enables us to be constantly on top of our game and be able to execute flawlessly and efficiently.
Yeah. And I would just add that, you know, we're talking about an academy, you could call it a university, whatever you wanna call it. They graduate, you know, over 100 of these 3D artists a month. After nine months of training, they cycle them in, they use them for movie studios, you know, Disney and others, to create 3D models. And so, you know, by the time we get them, they have some skills already, then we spend a couple of weeks training them, but we could, you know, potentially bring in as many as 100 in a given month, spend a couple of weeks training them.
Obviously, you know, we're gonna have only the cream of the crop, so you might end up with an 80/20 rule, where you only keep 20 out of the 100, and then you end up with this, you know, highly skilled, low cost... When I say low cost, I mean, the—Hareesh, you were saying, like, $300-$400 a month? Is that-
That's fair. That's right. Yep.
Yeah.
It's yeah-
CAD 300-CAD 400 a month. Let that sit in, Steve. I mean, that's probably what you pay going out to, like, a nice restaurant in Toronto. You know, so-
Yeah.
So but the point is, we're paying $300-$400 a month for highly skilled labor, and that... Again, this is game-changing news for our investors. At the end of the day, this is going to generate significant additional cash flow for Nextech by optimizing production and taking advantage of this low cost resource in India, a highly skilled resource, too. And it's gonna enhance our profitability, we believe, for years to come. And it's really, again, I, you know, I'm super excited because this is happening now. You know, Hareesh is there now.
Yeah.
This isn't something we're planning in 2024. This is something, you know, we're gonna be renting the space. When are we signing the lease, Hareesh?
We are ready to sign the lease, Evan, so I'm just finalizing some of the legal paperwork kind of thing, but yeah.
Yeah. I just wanna make a point here, just because I don't want people to get the wrong impression that you're hiring all these people at, you know, a small salary. But that, just so people understand, that's what the going rate is for this.
Yeah, yeah.
I wanna make sure, because I think that when we talk about North America, we may see things a bit differently-
Yeah.
and I wanna be, I wanna be crystal clear that, that you're saying what you're saying and not the other way around.
Yeah, sorry, Steve. Let me clarify. I thought the audience knew, but if they don't understand, in other parts of the world, you know, India, Vietnam, you know, China, making $300-$400 a month is not unusual. It's, you know, I don't know if you wanna call it middle class, but it's pretty normal.
Yeah.
It's not like we're taking advantage of anybody. In fact, it's quite the opposite. They are very happy to work for us. I mean, the alternative is, you know, that they would be, I guess, farmers, you know, which, you know, is not a bad thing, but you know, it's kind of a you know, an economy that's emerging.
Yeah.
As these economies continue to emerge and continue to grow. I mean, China has seen its wages increase by 50%, in some cases 100% over the last couple of decades, and you're gonna see that, you know, happen in India over time as well, and I'm sure it's already happened. I mean, I think Hareesh was telling me that, you know, the cost of labor has gone up. But relative to where we live in North America, and, you know, the more developed world, it is very, very appealing, which is why, you know, these, as Hareesh was saying, big tech companies set up offices there because you get highly skilled labor for a fraction of the cost.
To be honest with you, Steve, if you think about it, it's more, you know, threatening, at least in my mind, to the North American people than it is-
Yeah
You know, bad for the locals in India, 'cause, you know, for them, they're winning. And so, you know, that, you know, it's an interesting dynamic. It's a completely different conversation.
Yeah. Yeah. I just wanted to make sure that everyone understood that because, you know, I'm a fair wage person and a living wage person, and people should be making, you know-
Yeah
... living wage or more.
Yeah.
And so I wanted to make sure that that was the case. I know you and I have talked about this before, so I just wanna make sure people understood that.
Right
- and why that's important. Hareesh, you want to talk about it? Yep.
You know, just to the last point that Evan was mentioning in terms of how we think about this in terms of competition. I think there is another study by Deloitte recently that they published. India will be the only country expected to have a skilled talent surplus by 2030. Right? So that tells us, like, how the talent skill set and the resourcing is coming up and, you know, that's where it's about, you know, supply, demand, you know-
... Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about the, you mentioned that, the talent pool that's available, and there's a lot of tech companies that are there. How do you lure some of those people away? Are you talking about Hareesh setting up with new people that are rising up in the industry? Or are you talking about potentially getting other people that are with a Meta or a Microsoft or whoever it is? And I know you have connections with all of those companies, so are you looking and hoping, pulling some of that talent away, like Evan, did you?
It's a combination, Steve. It's going to be across the board. That's how we will scale the operations, right? We will require some experience, skills, experienced talent as well, while we also want to create opportunities for upcoming early-in-career individuals as well, to help them grow in our company as well, right? So it's going to be both. But I think it's, again, it's proportionate, right? What will be... Probably, it will be a 20% that experienced, and then 80% where we are bringing early-in-career individuals and growing them.
Yeah. I guess, Evan, in that point, it's making sure that you're developing your own talent as well, which makes... You know, when the company grows, so do the employees, and that's a key part of this, I would think.
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, look, at the end of the day, Nextech is a technology company. We're building technology, the next generation of technology. 3D models is kind of the end product, and AI is, you know, what we're leveraging, and Hareesh has his hand in that as well, to build these 3D models and be able to deliver them at scale.
Mm-hmm.
But while we're doing that, it's kind of important for our investors to understand that to be in the game... I mean, we could sit on the sidelines and generate no revenue, just have an R&D lab creating 3D models. And to be honest with you, I've met a whole bunch of companies that are doing just that, and they're trying to sell themselves. They're literally, you know, out of money. They've done some R&D, they've done some interesting stuff with AI, but, you know, Hareesh and I and some of our other team members here have looked at what they've done. I'm talking about some of our, you know, upstart competitors, and they're not really in the real world. Let's just say they could not deliver a single model that Amazon would approve. That's very, very important to understand.
Amazon has to approve every single model that we deliver to them. And so there's a very, very high bar, very high standard within, you know, the e-com ecosystem, and especially with Amazon. And so what we're doing with some of our, you know, manual labor is very, very important work. It puts us in business with Amazon, and it gives us an opportunity to then bring our technology forward and use the technology to hyperscale, where, you know, we can only scale to a certain point with people. And even, you know, with low-cost labor in India, and even with high-skill, high-skilled labor, I mean, you know, we're never gonna get to, you know, thousands of employees making 3D models. That's not the goal here.
The goal here is to have a small team that's highly skilled, highly efficient, highly productive on the front end, and have them working with our technology, the AI, the Toggle technology, which is for texturing, and we're now building technology to make the mesh. And those are the two pieces to a 3D model: the mesh, which is kind of a, you know, blank, you know, just kind of like a wireframe.
Mm-hmm.
And then you have the texturing, which is the color and the fabric and the material. When those two pieces come together, you have a 3D representation of a product. And so we have part of that entire workflow built. The AI, you know, takes a while to learn, but it is learning, and it is getting stronger, and it is getting better. And the goal here is to have our set up in India, to have our low-cost labor producing, you know, as many 3D models as possible, using our technology, our AI technology, to enhance their production. It's almost like, you know, putting a jet pack on a human. It's almost like putting like a human, you know, how fast can a person run?
Mm-hmm.
10 miles an hour? Okay, put them on a bicycle. Well, now they could go 30, 40. If you're going downhill, you can get to 60. All right, put them in a helicopter. You get to 100. Put them in a jet, now we're going 600 miles an hour, right? Now, we could travel, you know, from here to Europe. It's the same thing. We're using technology to get ahead. When you look at what we're doing, we're running with our, you know, 3D model production, right? This team we have of humans, but the technology is now getting put into play. And if I think about, you know, where we're at, we don't have the jet yet.
We don't have the rocket ship yet, but we're building towards that, and that's the key in understanding Nextech and what we're actually building here, because I think, you know, a lot of it is, maybe gets lost on our investors.
Okay. There's also another question coming in here, and you mentioned a bit of that, Evan. What does a move like this have impact on ARway and Toggle as well? Is there much of an effect on those two as well with setting up this particular office?
So there is. Our ARway team is already in India... our tech team. And so this really closes the loop on, you know, our tech team for ARway and Nextech, kind of, combining. And then if you look at Toggle, like I just mentioned, Toggle is going to be utilized by our team in India. This, you know, group of 100 in India that Hareesh is assembling, will be trained on Toggle. And so they will be using Toggle day in and day out, in terms of, you know, productivity... Yeah, I mean, we're going to leverage amongst all the three companies, this presence in India.
Okay. Hareesh, you want to add to that?
Yeah, just to chime in there and add on. Definitely, right? Like, I'm a technology person. My whole career has been in technology industry. That's again, in the beginning, someone has asked, like, what made me come to Nextech? It's the technology that attracted me, as I shared. So Toggle and ARway is definitely part of the roadmap. Those are the ones that we will use and leverage to further, to Evan's point earlier on, boost our offerings and how we scale our operations. So it is a complementary to what we are building as well here.
I think the artists that will be coming in will be leveraging definitely our existing technology and working on improving and building on top of our existing technology, and improving that tech stack overall, through which we will be able to offer at a much better and a bigger scale.
Okay, another question here, which is another good one. It says here: With the move to India enhancing Nextech's operations on the gaming side of the business, is the move specifically toward Amazon 3D models or other company ventures as well? So is this just for the 3D modeling, gentlemen, or is there, there are other opportunities as well?
There's definitely other opportunities. You know, there's an unlimited number of opportunities, but we're trying to stay very focused, really, within our lane, because we see a lot of upside within this 3D modeling space. And so, you know, as mentioned, you know, Amazon is just huge, and their demand is massive. And so the more productivity we can generate, the more they're gonna feed us in terms of, you know, 3D models, and ultimately, that's gonna be more revenue, and it's just gonna continue to cycle up. Obviously, as we're going along, we see Toggle being a part of that. You know, the gaming industry has already started using Toggle in some instances, and so...
But really, if you think about Nextech, our 3D modeling business is primarily geared towards e-com. We have some other 3D models that we make, but they're not as significant as the e-com business.
Yeah. Hareesh, you want to add into that?
No, I think just to add on there, it's about not just Amazon. Like, as, I think that towards the end of that question that was there, it's not about just Amazon. Our focus is building a portfolio of solutions such a way that it's scalable and applicable to any customer in the future as well, so-
Yeah.
We are not custom tailoring or a solution or an operational model specific to a customer.
Okay. Let's talk a bit about... Evan mentioned you had met with Amazon recently and went into their offices. Tell me a bit about that meeting. I think a lot of people, you know, they see Amazon as this, you know, the old picture of Jeff Bezos sitting in his garage with his computer. A little different now, obviously. But, you know, what have you heard from them so far? I know you haven't been with the company for that long, as I mentioned, but you obviously-
Yeah
...have gotten some pretty good insight into, from Amazon to what Nextech is providing. So I'm interested, and I'm sure the viewers would like to know a bit about that as well.
Right. Yeah. I think, Steve, you asked in the beginning, what is that, that I'm bringing, working at Microsoft and Meta? That's, that's where I think, I have an understanding of how these big conglomerates think about how their partnership with, various, suppliers or partner engagement. So I have a good understanding of that. So that's where when I first, you know, came here, I joined... You know, my first goal was go and visit Amazon and make an, you know, meet with the Amazon team in, in their offices. The reason being, it's, it builds more partnership, improving our partnership is the first one. Two, is also understanding and providing our point of view to Amazon about how we want to operate, how we want to grow our business together, and what are the things we are bringing uniquely to the table.
My conversation with Amazon, very specifically, was about this technology that we were just talking earlier. It is we are not just, again, we are not just building operations through just, you know, resources only. It's a combination of resources with technology that differentiates us from any other partner or supplier that Amazon could be working with. So they received that very well. And then the second element of it is establishing the operations in India. That, for them, again, going back to our earlier conversation, it's about, you know, quick turnaround times, quick efficiencies. We all know about Amazon. They are all about same-day delivery, and high quality, delivering the right thing at the right place, and that is what they expect from us as well. So it was about reinforcing that message...
We are along with them and share those same principles of quality and speed with them, and making sure that we are going to enable them. So it was received very well. As Evan mentioned earlier, they are looking forward to have our office up and running here, so they can have their team of experts support us as well. So that is one of the things that they brought up, as well as if we are here, we can bring how Amazon evaluates any product or any SKUs that we deliver to them. They can train our team members, come into our offices, you know, do a kind of a workshop thing, and so we kind of talked about those scenarios as well. So it's a...
I came out of that meeting feeling very energized, very excited about the partnership, and looks like there is investment on both sides in the partnership.
Hareesh, did that meeting help you in order to, to decide on how you would set up this particular office on saying: Okay, their real focus is on this, so we need to make sure that we deliver this, this, and this. Is that, is that something that, that you really took away from that meeting as well?
Yes, Steve. Yes, definitely. It was a lot of good insights into how we want to structure the organization, how we want to build the team, as well as how we want to deliver the products to Amazon. Again, as I said earlier, this was more an input that I've taken out from that meeting, and then extrapolating that to across various other customers that we potentially will see in the future as well. Definitely a lot of good insights in that way. How does Amazon operate? How do they evaluate? How do they want to receive the product or the outcome of the quality and the service levels from a partner like us?
Yeah. Evan, that's, that's really good insight, you know, for someone that has, you know, in essence, speaks the same language of what, of what Amazon is talking about and what they want to receive. And, and I know that when you and I originally talked about Hareesh joining the company in an interview, you talked about this is the type of thing that he brings with him, is the ability of this kind of... to just step up and say: "Let's have a meeting," and they say, "Yeah, come on over.
Yeah, it's going to be quite interesting to watch this office in India develop. I am gonna make a trip over there, you know, possibly before the end of the year. You know, we'll see. Once the office is set up, my thinking is that this is foundational. This is really going to allow us to become cash flow positive, allow us to become profitable, and allow us to deliver at scale for Amazon. And as Hareesh mentioned, and again, I'm reiterating, we have our team of humans that are able to do so much.
But when you start to bring the technology, the AI technology, the Toggle, to the table, and you bring the mesh capabilities to the table using AI, that's when our productivity is gonna go, you know, much, much faster, much, much higher. And again, our profitability is going to follow. And so I'm actually getting more and more excited as we keep talking about this because this is literally the moment that I think all of our investors have been waiting for, where we're set up for scale, and we're set up for scale with a low cost infrastructure, and that is critical. I mean, it's business at its best when you're able to scale and produce the...
I mean, there's a reason why everything's made in you know, China, or India or Bangladesh or wherever. You know, there's a reason why. And, you know, there's a reason why you know, companies that do manufacture overseas are profitable. And, we're gonna be one of those companies with this new initiative, and that's really the bottom line, Steve.
Yeah. Somebody's brought up here, just mentioned something along the lines of: Well, with AI, it sort of replaces the need for humans, so why set up a, an office with a... But there, there's a lot. I think people don't quite understand how AI works. And even though it's AI, you still have to. There has to be something inputted into it, right?
Yes. You have to train those AI models.
Yeah.
They can't just-
And we don't want AI replacing humans. We want people to be working, right? Like, that's the-
Yeah.
The big thing with me is.
Yeah
... we still have jobs. That's important.
Yeah. So if you actually pay attention to, you know-
Yeah
The big tech companies talk about AI, it's an AI assist.
Yes.
Right?
Good point.
It's not replacing a human, it's assisting. That's what I was saying about-
Yeah
... the bicycle, the you know, the jet, the helicopter. Those things assist us. They haven't... You know, so now we're able to travel and do things that, you know, with technology, and that's what AI is. It's going to allow us to do things that we were not able to easily do before. It allows us to be more productive, allows us to spend more time doing the things we like to do, as opposed to the manual labor type of activities. And I think that's what AI really brings to the table, is it increases the productivity of a human. It doesn't replace a human, it increases the productivity. So while we might have, let's say, 100 headcount in India, over time, it's possible that it goes down to, you know-...
50 or 60, you know, but it's never gonna be zero, is the point. Is that, you know, it's finding that balance where you have the AI assisting the human and, you know, not, not replacing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Hareesh, you want to add something?
Yeah, I think to just to—you cannot just scale operations by just, you know, adding humans, right? So that is where this AI and technology comes in. So it's a complementary. Both of them have to go work well and work together and learn from each other. AI enables humans, humans train AI, so that circle keeps, yeah, continuously happening. That's when you have an efficient and a scalable operations. I truly believe that. And even any AI that you take today, ChatGPT or even I know Meta just is having their Connect, which is their technology showcase that they do, and they showcase their AI as well, and that has... I know that has taken a lot of human work behind the scenes.
That's what AI is not about taking off humans, it's about working together with humans and enabling them. And that combination allows from an operational, and I'm coming from an operational background, for me, that is the good balance, as Evan says, to build your scalable operations.
Absolutely. All right, gentlemen, we're just nearing the end of our time. Thought, first off, Hareesh, some final thoughts from you on where things are at and where you're heading. I know you're you sound very excited about where things are going.
Yes, Steve, I'm super excited, super energized, and as I said, being here in India, at the Silicon Valley or the next Silicon Valley of India here, the energy, the talent that I get to interact with, you know, meeting people in those offices as well, is going super well. Everywhere I go, it's about how do we scale, how do we bring our technology to this, into this, enabling our services? So super excited. As I mentioned, we have a tech stack, we are growing, and this is what I'm very excited and looking forward to establishing these operations here in India and executing on them.
Absolutely. Hareesh, thank you so much. I enjoy talking to you. I think you've got a wealth of knowledge and a lot more that we'll get into, or, you know, in the months to come. But really appreciate your time, and I know it's a busy day and where you are, and we really appreciate your time today.
Thank you so much, Steve.
Yeah. Hareesh Achi, the Head of Product Operations. Evan, final thoughts?
Yeah, I would just say to our shareholders, make no mistake about it, 3D models are here to stay. Amazon is very, very serious about building Nextech's business to be able to supply them with more 3D models. We're very, very serious about delivering on our promise to shareholders with our business. We think we're on the right track. We think that our investors are gonna be quite surprised. The stock currently is not reflecting any of the value that we're building for our shareholders today, but I do believe that it will reflect that value in the future. And so as we continue to build in India, as we continue to build our AI capabilities, we're gonna see Amazon continue to give us more and more business and others.
We're not gonna talk about it right this minute, but there are some other whales out there as well that are quite interested in our high volume production, and especially with the fact that we're situated now in India. So there's just an enormous amount of momentum starting to build, and again, it's not being reflected in our share price, at least not yet.
Okay. All right, we'll leave it there. Someone has suggested you get those air miles working and get over to India and check it out. So there you go. You're ready to go. Evan, thank you so much. Good to see you again.
Thank you, Steve.
All right. There's Evan Gappelberg, the CEO of Nextech3D.ai Corporation. Of course, the new name taking effect in a couple of weeks. And as always, we wanna thank you very much for being a part of this Proactive live stream. I look forward to talking to you again down the road, and I appreciate all your questions as well. Enjoy the rest of your day.