Vectara

September 17 , 2024 by Miluska Berta & Ofer Mendelevitch

Last week’s The AI Conference in San Francisco spotlighted the latest advancements in AI, with key themes ranging from the power of large language models (LLMs) to AI ethics and infrastructure. The conference brought together business leaders and developers to explore how Generative AI is transforming industries and to discuss the critical need for responsible AI deployment.

Among the many sponsors, Vectara made a strong impression with its cutting-edge AI solutions. Specializing in an end-to-end GenAI platform with RAG-as-a-service, Vectara demonstrated its commitment to reducing hallucinations in AI-generated content through its innovative Boomerang Retrieval Model as well as the open-source Hallucination Evaluation Model (or HHEM). This technology, part of Vectara’s Retrieval Augmented Generation-as-a-Service (RAGaaS) platform, enhances conversational AI experiences by delivering relevant, secure, and accurate search results. Vectara’s platform is highly developer-friendly, offering API-first integrations that empower businesses to embed generative AI without the complexities of managing language or privacy risks.​

The company’s emphasis on hybrid search and zero-shot models was a highlight, showcasing how its platform addresses real-world challenges like cross-language search and enhanced retrieval precision. As Vectara continues to push the boundaries of AI-powered search, it has established itself as a trusted partner for enterprises seeking to leverage AI in their applications.

Some of the highlights of the conference include:

• A RAG panel, where Christy Bergman, Marwan Sarieddine, Prashanth Rao, and Ofer Mendelevitch discussed topics such as the implications of long sequences in LLMs on RAG, RAG build-vs-buy, Graph RAG, and Agentic RAG.
• A panel on AI in healthcare, discussing how to best integrate AI into healthcare and drug discovery
• Many other incredible talks with luminaries like Peter Norvig, Jason Wei, Mark Chen, and others

Vectara hosted an impromptu meetup on the topic of “Build vs. Buy” for RAG, which took a deep dive into what it looks like, realistically, to build out your own RAG solution vs. implementing a RAGaaS much like Vectara’s.

Yobi joined Vectara at the conference, and showcased their voice activation solution that is powered by Vectara’s RAGaaS. It was cool to see a few Vectara AI assistant demos activated through a voice interface.

Overall, The AI Conference 2024 not only explored the latest in AI infrastructure and alignment but also provided a stage for companies like Vectara to drive the conversation on how AI can safely and effectively be integrated into diverse applications.

Don’t miss out on Vectara’s latest in-person roadshow, RAG on the Road! Upskill and dive deep into advanced Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) design patterns. We will offer a comprehensive single-day event, including strategies for decision makers, product owners, and AI developers aimed at helping you design enterprise-grade AI implementations in hours. Sign up today for our events in Reston, VA, and New York, NY!