Algorithms, the “DNA of software,” have become central to how our digitized world works. From what you see in your Facebook news feed, to which traffic lights are green on your way to work, to what discount you may get when buying groceries in the supermarket – it is all defined through invisible software processes.
In the last decade we have seen both raw data and information increasingly being sold as goods or made accessible for a subscription fee. Algorithms however are currently predominantly developed and reused directly by their owners, published in academic journals or distributed as open source code.
Some entrepreneurs however, recently came up with the idea of algorithm marketplaces. These work like app stores for software building blocks or, as the MIT Technology Review puts it, “dating site[s] for algorithms.” These platforms connect academics or software developers, who want to monetize their creations, with others who are trying to find existing solutions to problems they are facing.
Forbes lists the emergence as an important prediction for the future of Big Data while Gartner sees substantial growth opportunities and predicts that “the three leading marketplaces will offer more functions than all other analytical vendors combined – transforming the analytics and broader software market in the process.”
Diego Oppenheimer, a former program manager at Microsoft, and Kenny Daniel, who did his PhD in artificial intelligence at the University of Southern California, are now on the mission of freeing the algorithms currently “trapped in white papers.” Their company Algorithmia is one example for an algorithm marketplace, providing a cloud platform onto which users can upload their algorithms and make them accessible through APIs. To access them, users pay an amount defined by the developer (30% of which goes to the platform) and are charged for computational power. Apart from the listing of existing algorithms, Algorithmia provides a “bounty system”, which lets users ask for special algorithms that can then be developed from scratch or be reused by others.
There is also a variety of other marketplaces for algorithms for specific fields like ad placement (DataXu) or machine learning (Algorithms.io), but Algorithmia is the first one that offers and sells any type of algorithm.
Gartner notes that algorithm marketplaces could contribute to an even further growth within the software market by creating a new niche for software snippets both reused and developed particularly for these platforms. In addition, they could allow the development of more complex software, allowing developers to build on existing algorithms.
The founders hope that this platform will lead to a democratization of software development, especially in the area of deep learning systems where it currently seems like few software giants are about to centralize talent and knowledge.
Sources
17 Predictions About The Future Of Big Data Everyone Should Read
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/03/15/17-predictions-about-the-future-of-big-data-everyone-should-read/#47b6f89a157c
A Dating Site for Algorithms
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/530406/a-dating-site-for-algorithms/
Algorithmia Raises $2.4M To Connect Academia And App Developers
Algorithmia Raises $2.4M To Connect Academia And App Developers
Algorithms move from academia to marketplace
The Algorithm Economy Will Start a Huge Wave of Innovation
http://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/the-algorithm-economy-will-start-a-huge-wave-of-innovation/
Wanna Build Your Own Google? Visit the App Store for Algorithms
Wanna Build Your Own Google? Visit the App Store for Algorithms
