2023/05/18 | Written By: Jieun Song, Sungmin Park

Unlocking the Potential of AI with Upstage's "OCR"

In the seventh content of Starview, we feature Hoon Choi, a member of our Business Development team who is dedicated to the Document AI and API business. Through our interview with Choi, we'll delve into the success stories of our top life insurance clients and explore how Upstage's Document AI and OCR services are expanding the AI ecosystem through various opportunities and challenges.

Q. Could you please explain what Upstage's Document AI/API is?

Our flagship product, Document AI, is designed with the B2B market in mind. Many corporate solutions require customization to fit the specific needs of each company. AI services necessitate model training and examination to guarantee they operate efficiently within a company's framework.

Upstage recognized this challenge and set out to create a solution that would make AI services more accessible and adaptable for businesses. We developed the AI Pack concept, which includes our Document AI solution that can be installed and customized within a company and our Document AI API service, which allows subscribers to access our high-performance OCR services and pay based on usage.

Q. What sets Upstage's Document AI apart from competitors in the market?

After meeting with numerous clients, we've been able to identify our unique strengths: 1) highly-performant information extraction models that rival those found in commercial products, and 2) sustainability through service.

The conventional approach to OCR services has been to use rule-based or template-based solutions. While this has been sufficient for structured documents, the documents that our clients are now dealing with are primarily unstructured.

To illustrate, let's take the case of a patient submitting documents for insurance claim reimbursement. They might need to provide receipts, details of the treatment provided, payment verification, and medication receipts, among other documents. Faxing scanned copies to insurance companies has traditionally been common, but many customers now prefer to snap photos with their smartphone cameras and submit them using mobile apps.

In this case, the documents that the insurance company must handle for customers vary greatly, which presents a challenge for traditional OCR solutions. Upstage's solution is to use deep learning models that have been trained on the customer's data to ensure high-quality results. Our model performance is at the top tier globally, as evidenced by our first-place finish in the competitive ICDAR 2023 HireText category, outperforming tech giants like Huawei, Alibaba, Amazon Web Services, and Naver Cloud. By offering a high-quality OCR model that's further trained with customer data, our services can be immediately deployed in real-world applications.

The second key advantage of our service is its sustainability. While generic solutions typically involve implementing business requirements and leaving it at that, AI services require ongoing support and updates. Models may not perform as expected due to changing data types, input conditions, or other factors. Perfect AI services are not yet a reality, but we've found a way to address this through our "retraining" feature.

Just as a student may need to adapt to new curriculum changes and content when studying, our Document AI solution offers the capability to continuously learn and improve.

Q. In which industries is there a high demand for Document AI?

When we were preparing our Document AI product early last year, we identified the financial/insurance industry as our primary target. This sector has a strong need for digital transformation, but it still relies heavily on traditional paper documents, which are time-consuming and costly to process. We anticipated that automation could have a significant impact in this industry, and it has been extremely rewarding to see that our expectations have been validated. We have been successful in signing contracts with top life insurance companies for our OCR solutions.

More recently, we've seen a surge in OCR demand from other industries, such as manufacturing and transportation. For instance, in the transportation sector, documents like invoices, shipping lists, and purchase orders are essential for global trade. Since these documents are still predominantly paper-based, the need for OCR technology is critical. Similarly, in manufacturing industries like steel and others, a vast number of documents are generated daily, but these documents often go unutilized because they are not digitized. However, by leveraging Document AI and OCR technology to transform these documents into big data, companies can uncover valuable business insights and gain a competitive edge. This realization is driving more and more companies to seek out our solutions.

Q. What do you believe were the key factors that enabled Upstage to reach this level of success in supplying solutions to top life insurance companies?

I want to give a huge shout-out to everyone at Upstage for their amazing hard work and talent in reaching this incredible milestone. Our success is all thanks to your commitment and skills.

Creating a top-performing model requires a well-structured, meticulous process. Our data team played an essential role in analyzing and labeling insurance document data, laying the groundwork for our powerful AI capabilities. This attention to detail is crucial for training high-performance models.

The model team takes the refined data and applies cutting-edge technology to create exceptional models. We leverage the latest research, along with the technical expertise we've gained from competing in various competitions, to ensure that our models are at the forefront of AI innovation. The Pack Dev team's role in focusing on creating an intuitive, user-friendly experience with the AI Pack concept is another factor that sets us apart.

Additionally, the marketing and PR teams have been instrumental in raising awareness of our innovative solutions in the market. Their efforts in targeted marketing have helped us connect with the right clients and foster an understanding of the benefits of our Document AI.

In conclusion, the key to our success is the synergistic work of our talented Upstage teams.

[Try Document AI →]

Q. There has been a notable increase in inquiries about Document AI API. Can you share with us the recent needs and requirements?

Clients are increasingly seeking our solutions for a diverse array of applications. These applications involve processing logistics and shipping documents, automating expense management, screening resumes, translating texts, recognizing information on credit cards, and digitizing a company's internal documents. We are dedicated to assisting every client company with document automation, consistent with Upstage's mission to 'Make AI Beneficial.'

Q. From Document AI to API, do you have any aspirations or goals for promoting Upstage's Document AI to more clients this year?

The pace of technological change is truly astounding, and it's now common to see advancements occur within a month or less. This presents a challenge to all organizations, including big tech companies and startups like Upstage.

However, Upstage possesses a unique advantage in its strong foundation in AI technology, its ability to adapt to new technologies rapidly, and its agility in bringing forward-thinking AI services to the market. This is evident in the development of AskUp, which began as a simple chatbot but quickly evolved into a nationwide AI service, thanks to Upstage's technical expertise and innovative spirit.

Similarly, we believe that when companies choose to use Upstage's Doucument AI services, they are not just investing in document automation; they are choosing to be part of a larger vision and a commitment to innovation. Our Document AI service is continuously advancing with the latest technology. For businesses looking to thrive in the rapidly changing AI landscape, I strongly recommend partnering with Upstage.

Q. Could you share some memorable experiences from assisting clients with Document AI?

I've always aimed to personally guide a client project at Upstage from start to finish, and I'm thrilled to say I did just that with Hanwha Life. It was a true team effort. Our CEO, Sung Kim, made a splash on 3PROTV, drawing in potential clients, while our PR and marketing teams skillfully managed the surge in interest. Then, our sales team took the reins with their impeccable handling of initial conversations. My part was to stay closely connected with the client, making sure we aligned with their needs without losing sight of our own goals and strengths. Working with a client who saw the true worth of our innovative technology and what we offered was incredibly rewarding.

Sure, there were tense times during the proposal, BMT, and award announcement phases, but the joy of hearing we'd won in December 2020 was unforgettable. And our commitment didn't stop at the contract signing; we've been working non-stop to deliver success for the client. It's exciting to think about how our joint venture is set to make waves in the industry.

[Learn more about Document AI →]

Q. If you had to describe Document AI in one keyword, what would it be?

This may come as a surprise, but I like to think of Document AI as "WaaS" or "Water as a Service." It's a metaphor that has resonated well with many of our client conversations. Just as households have two options for obtaining water - installing a filter and managing it or purchasing purified water - businesses have different needs when it comes to managing their documents.

Some companies prefer to install and manage their own Document AI infrastructure, much like owning and maintaining a water filtration system. If that's their preference, they can purchase our Document AI solutions and customize them to their exact specifications. On the other hand, for businesses that would rather not deal with the hassle and maintenance of in-house solutions, our Document AI API subscription service is like buying purified water. Our customers simply pay for what they use and enjoy high-quality, hassle-free document management services.

Forward Together: Embracing our Upstage Way

Q: What’s the Upstage Way for you, and can you share some of your practical know-how?

While all the Upstage Ways are important, I believe that one team is crucial. As a fully remote company, clients sometimes jokingly (and seriously) ask if it's challenging to work in a remote setting.

I think the key to making a remote work environment successful is understanding the contributions of each team member to the team and the company. Every Star at Upstage is exceptional in their ability to clearly see their role within the larger picture. Whether it's the people I've been close with for two years or those I'm just meeting, there's always something new to learn. I believe that the respect and consideration we show for each other are what bring us together as one team with one goal.

Q: "Upstage is _____!" Fill in the blank with what you think.

This is a difficult question. I'd like to say that Upstage is a train laying tracks while running. My recent experience collaborating with the Product Team made me realize that we are simultaneously building the tracks, the train, and moving forward. It's actually a challenging task to accomplish. It sounds absurd, but being a startup and a technology-focused company allows us to achieve this feat.

I think this phrase accurately represents the power of Upstage, as our dedicated Stars work together to create extraordinary products, and with the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances or trends by even changing the direction of our tracks.