iStockMUMBAI: Mumbai-based artificial intelligence company Fractal Analytics is building data frameworks to help authorities track states of Covid-19 vaccines and address questions over their efficacy and side effects.
While governments across the world are strategizing to solve challenges like procurement, distribution and storage of vaccines, they are also looking at addressing resistance from anti-vaxxers and questions on the effectiveness and side effects of the vaccination. Fractal expects states in India too face similar challenges once they start the vaccination process.
The state governments that the company is engaged with are cognisant that “rather than a high-handed approach”, a data-driven process that addresses citizen concerns may be more effective for vaccine coverage, Fractal group chief executive Srikanth Velamakanni said.
Fractal, which raised a fresh round of funding from private equity firm Apax Partners in 2019 has been working with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as well as the Telangana and Karnataka governments in Covid-19 mitigation since March on a pro bono basis.
The company has helped the authorities with Covid-19 identification and treatment, with the use of data analytics, AI and behavioural sciences. It looks to continue its assistance to these administrations and also assist the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for vaccine-related data modelling. It is also in final talks with several other state governments.
For Covid-19 identification and treatment, the startup deployed models based on behavioural data science and AI, to help administrators and doctors make key decisions. These decisions included how hospital beds could be freed up for new patients, which patients were nearing critical condition and the appropriate quarantine periods for patients.
It has designed a cloud-based data infrastructure to document and analyse the vaccination process using publicly available structured and unstructured data. According to Velamakanni, the company is aiming to help states address public concerns in the vaccination process with data-driven answers.
“This is about enabling behaviour change. Adults have never been vaccinated in our country (on such a scale), there is also the anticipation of pain, there may be stories about side effects that may spread very quickly — in light of all those expectations, how you make sure that you are transparently communicating and getting citizens to do what is right for themselves (is important),” said Velamakanni.
According to him, such an infrastructure would have many use cases for states, including building statistics around how many people have been vaccinated at any point of time.
He added, “Some (citizens) may feel that the vaccine research has not been modelled specifically on Indians so Indians may have disproportionate risk in taking them. We don’t know what kind of information or misinformation may come up. We want to keep track of what side effects are coming through, make sure there is accounting for it, accounting for vaccines that may be lost or badly reported etc.”
Headquartered in New York, Fractal Analytics was founded in 2000. It serves Fortune 500 companies in sectors like retail, pharma and financial services. It raised $200 million last year from Apax Partners.
THe company expects to post $34 million (Rs 250 crore) revenue in the January-March quarter, translating to a revenue run rate of Rs 1,000 crore for FY21.
While governments across the world are strategizing to solve challenges like procurement, distribution and storage of vaccines, they are also looking at addressing resistance from anti-vaxxers and questions on the effectiveness and side effects of the vaccination. Fractal expects states in India too face similar challenges once they start the vaccination process.
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Fractal, which raised a fresh round of funding from private equity firm Apax Partners in 2019 has been working with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as well as the Telangana and Karnataka governments in Covid-19 mitigation since March on a pro bono basis.
The company has helped the authorities with Covid-19 identification and treatment, with the use of data analytics, AI and behavioural sciences. It looks to continue its assistance to these administrations and also assist the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for vaccine-related data modelling. It is also in final talks with several other state governments.
For Covid-19 identification and treatment, the startup deployed models based on behavioural data science and AI, to help administrators and doctors make key decisions. These decisions included how hospital beds could be freed up for new patients, which patients were nearing critical condition and the appropriate quarantine periods for patients.
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It has designed a cloud-based data infrastructure to document and analyse the vaccination process using publicly available structured and unstructured data. According to Velamakanni, the company is aiming to help states address public concerns in the vaccination process with data-driven answers.
“This is about enabling behaviour change. Adults have never been vaccinated in our country (on such a scale), there is also the anticipation of pain, there may be stories about side effects that may spread very quickly — in light of all those expectations, how you make sure that you are transparently communicating and getting citizens to do what is right for themselves (is important),” said Velamakanni.
According to him, such an infrastructure would have many use cases for states, including building statistics around how many people have been vaccinated at any point of time.
He added, “Some (citizens) may feel that the vaccine research has not been modelled specifically on Indians so Indians may have disproportionate risk in taking them. We don’t know what kind of information or misinformation may come up. We want to keep track of what side effects are coming through, make sure there is accounting for it, accounting for vaccines that may be lost or badly reported etc.”
Headquartered in New York, Fractal Analytics was founded in 2000. It serves Fortune 500 companies in sectors like retail, pharma and financial services. It raised $200 million last year from Apax Partners.
THe company expects to post $34 million (Rs 250 crore) revenue in the January-March quarter, translating to a revenue run rate of Rs 1,000 crore for FY21.
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