In 2006, we took our first step into the realm of AI technology investments, and since then, our portfolio has expanded significantly, with a majority of our portfolio companies harnessing the limitless potential of artificial intelligence. These investments span from enhancing product offerings to optimizing internal processes.
Among these ventures, Decisions is a prime example of how AI can supercharge SaaS solutions. Decisions’ meeting management solution seamlessly integrates with a range of Microsoft tools - Teams, Outlook, Word, OneNote, SharePoint/OneDrive, and Planner. This isn't just about productivity; it's about making work easier, more efficient, engaging, and collaborative, all without the hassle of jumping between different apps and doing repetitive, manual tasks.
Skagerak Capital has been a customer and user of Decision for as long as we have been an investor in the company, since 2018.
“We use Decisions for internal and external meetings on a weekly basis, as the Decisions makes meetings more productive, valuable and engaging”, partner in Skagerak Capital, Andreas Eskeland says. “Spending a lot of time in meetings, it is important to make sure preparation, running and after-work of each meeting is efficient, Eskeland continues.
Thousands of other companies are also using Decisions, from large, multinational corporations, to public institutions. Eskeland is especially enthusiastic about the AI-powered meeting assistant which helps to develop more content, drive further insights, and do it all in less time.
“It’s like having my own assistant living in Microsoft Teams which helps me plan my week and stay on top of important meetings, host productive meetings, and it automatically takes notes and summarizes key takeaways, decisions, and action items”, Eskeland says.
This allows us to be fully present in discussions while ensuring we capture the crucial bits.
Our meetings have become more efficient, leading to better accountability and collaboration.
Decisions uses AI in all core features of the product to increase efficiency and help meeting organizers and meeting participants. At its heart lies the agenda generator, an AI feature that uses natural language processing to create personalized agendas from meeting invitations chat history and other sources.
But it's not just about agendas. Take their automated meeting transcription and note-taking tool, for example.
It uses natural language processing to summarize meeting points and decisions, so you can focus on the conversation without worrying about taking notes. Decisions' AI capabilities are boosted through their partnership with Microsoft Azure OpenAI services, giving them access to cutting-edge GPT-4 AI technology. This means they can deliver solutions that are not just faster and more personalized, but also highly efficient, all while keeping the user experience front and center. And security is taken care of, as Decisions is built into customers’ existing Microsoft structures, and do not process any personal data outside of an organization's Microsoft 365 tenant.
Jørgen Solberg, Decisions CEO, is genuinely excited about AI's potential, not only to revolutionize productivity for customers and users, but also to redefine the entire meeting experience — before, during and after. "We are excited to lead the way to bring AI into the workplace in a functional, useful, and responsible manner," Solberg says.
"We believe that AI is already fundamentally changing the way we do everything, and Decisions is focused on driving further adoption of such technology to increase productivity, efficiency and knowledge." Jørgen Solberg, CEO
Eskeland is convinced that AI will continue to drive innovation, not only within Decisions but across the broader SaaS sector. "We're just scratching the surface of AI's potential," he emphasizes. "As more companies embrace AI, we expect even greater benefits for users and exciting investment opportunities."
As we journey forward, we're excited to see what's on the horizon. AI's potential for transforming and improving our portfolio companies is just beginning to unfold.