Does a Startup Need Blockchain or AI? A Test Before You Build
Contents
Or why a hyped technology in a pitch deck doesn't make a project good
There's a question that comes up about once every six months in any IT and startup community. In 2017 it sounded like this: "Can we add blockchain to this?" Today it sounds like this: "Can we plug AI into this?"
It's the same question. Only the word changed.
The 2017 Blockchain Hype: A Cafe With Mining Rigs Inside the Tables
When bitcoin was rising in 2017-2018 and the word "blockchain" became a password for attracting investors, something predictable happened: everyone wanted a blockchain farm (and not a mining farm, a regular one, with cows), a blockchain cafe, blockchain delivery.
One telling example from that time is an anti-cafe concept where a graphics card sat inside every table. You pay for time, the table mines crypto for you while you eat. As a joke, it sounds fun. As a business model, it raises more questions than it answers.
The blockchain hype faded, and many of those projects disappeared with it. Today the same story is playing out again. Only the word is different.
AI Adoption in Business: The Same Mistake, With a Nuance
AI and blockchain don't carry the same scale of value, and it's worth admitting that plainly. Blockchain solved a narrow problem in a specific context. AI is already changing how people work: in a number of tasks, an entry-level specialist with a language model now produces output that used to require years of experience. The value here is real.
But a technology's ability to help inside a business and building a business around the technology itself are two different tasks. And this is where the same mistake as with blockchain begins.
Developers today get requests like: "We saw that AI can do this. Let's plug it in here. Where else can we add AI? What if a neural network replaced me, wouldn't that be great?" It sounds familiar. That's exactly how conversations about blockchain sounded in 2017.
The difference is that AI is objectively useful across a wider range of cases. But the underlying thinking is the same: starting from the tool and searching for a task, instead of starting from the task and choosing a tool. AI-driven process automation pays off where a process is already well defined and the problem it solves is clear.
A Simple Test: Does Your Startup Actually Need This Technology
There's a direct way to check whether your project needs AI, or any other hyped tool, including a blockchain integration. Two questions are enough.
- Does the business exist without the technology? Remove the technology from the business. If the business still stands, there's something in it people are willing to pay for without the buzzwords. The technology is then a tool, and that's fine. But having a tool isn't a reason to call yourself an AI company. If there's no business at all without the technology, only then is it the foundation.
- Does the technology outperform a mid-level employee at your business's tasks? If yes, it matters and deserves to be built in deeply. If no, it's a fifth wheel on the cart. It'll spin, but the point is questionable, and it'll squeak: you'll have to haul it around, grease it, and fix it. Someone has to be the innovator, though, and they say five-wheeled vehicles are the future.
A third condition sits behind both questions: the business needs an actual problem it solves. If there's no problem, there's no business either.
Where Hype Comes From and What Happens to It
Hype around a technology shows up wherever money shows up, and enthusiasts join in afterward.
A new market appears, investors start putting money in, the first success stories surface, and the hype begins. In the early 2010s it was social networks: a huge number appeared, and most didn't survive. In 2017, it was blockchain and cryptocurrency. Now it's AI. There are plenty of examples; listing them all wouldn't add much.
As long as there's enough money in the market and the technology keeps expanding its reach, the hype continues. AI is at that stage right now: it's moving into new fields, money keeps flowing in, and the hype isn't fading. Once the market fills up, competition shifts inward: AI solutions start competing with each other for specific tasks, the extra players disappear, and the ones left are those who solve real problems better than everyone else. That's not a prediction, it's the standard mechanics of any market.
Blockchain for Business and AI: What It Means for Builders
Anyone who shouts every few months that "AI will wipe out every designer and marketer" is just writing a clickbait headline: it sounds louder, it gets more views. It has nothing to do with actually analyzing the technology. The real picture is quieter and more useful.
AI is a good tool. Blockchain is a good tool in its own context. Neither one is, on its own, a reason to start a project. The reason is a problem that needs solving, and only after that comes the question of which tool to use.
Picture a restaurant. It has food, and every restaurant has food, so food alone can't be a competitive edge. The same will happen with AI: soon every business will have some form of it, because it covers tasks almost everywhere. It'll become a standard part of doing business and stop producing a "wow" effect. A business with AI will just be a business.
The ones who survive aren't the ones shouting the loudest about AI. They're the ones using the technology to solve a specific, real problem for their business or for their customer.
If you have that problem, take the technology. If you don't, don't invent a problem just to justify the technology. You can validate that hypothesis and build a first version of the product with an MVP: it's the simplest way to find out whether the technology is even needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a startup need blockchain?
It does if the core idea of the project doesn't work without it, or if it solves a specific task better than other approaches. If the business exists without blockchain too, the technology stays an optional tool.
When does AI adoption in business make sense?
When AI outperforms a mid-level employee at the business's tasks and closes a clearly defined problem. That's when it's worth building in deeply.
How do I know if a technology is right for my project?
Ask two questions: does the business exist without the technology, and does the technology outperform a mid-level employee at the relevant tasks. If there's no business without it, it's the foundation. If it outperforms people, it's worth building in. In every other case, it stays a supporting tool.
Why does hype around technology fade?
Hype arrives together with money. Once the market fills up, competition shifts inward, the extra players leave, and the ones who solve real problems better than others survive.
Bottom Line
Blockchain and AI are worth it for a startup where they solve a specific problem better than the existing alternatives. In every other case, a buzzword in the pitch deck doesn't help the project. And vitamin C isn't needed either, unless you have a cold, or scurvy.
Not sure whether your project actually needs the technology? Start with a consultation. The Defence.Investments team can help assess the task and, if the technology is justified, build it: from blockchain development to machine learning solutions.
0
0
Comments 0