Manish Sharma: The world is advancing with AI and Nepal shouldn’t fall behind

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by Anna Munhin Mar 20, 2023 News
Manish Sharma: The world is advancing with AI and Nepal shouldn’t fall behind

Prixa Technologies is an IT company in Nepal that specializes in artificial intelligence, news websites, mobile apps, big data, content management systems, cloud hosting, IT consultation services, and social media marketing. The co- founder and CEO of Prixa is a graduate of the Pulchowk campus. The IT industry in Nepal was the subject of a conversation. There are excerpts.

Prixa is working on something.

Prixa recognizes Nepal's need to adopt modern technologies for growth while acknowledging that costly foreign solutions don't fulfill the needs of the local market. We aim to maximize technology adoption in Nepal by providing affordable, cutting-edge solutions tailored to local businesses and communities in order to foster innovation and enable them to become competitive in the rapidly changing global technology landscape. We are currently working on solutions for the Nepali market.

We have different types of businesses. Our clients run on the Snowberry platform. Large-scale cloud computing, display technologies, enterprise software solutions are some of the things we do.

One of the largest content delivery networks in Nepal is operated by us. The internet of things has increased our efforts. We work with government bodies to make low-cost high-precision weather forecast solutions.

What do you think about Nepal's IT infrastructure?

Multiple models work for the IT industry here. Some companies just upgrade for Nepali clients while the majority of them cater to international clients with mixed models and some only work for foreign companies.

Nepal is facing a lot of challenges. Nepal needs to be upgraded on a policy level. We need a foreign solution to solve our problems, but we don't have an easy way to pay or interact. We are working with a lot of cloud providers, but we are still having trouble paying. The industry is growing fast.

How do you view Nepali media websites outside of the country?

The media websites in Nepal are more focused on advertising. Business strategies are important to be sustainable in a market but, currently, we have been observing in our clients that their strategies are deviating towards subscription based for a better experience The company is able to personalize users. I don't believe the media is prepared to invest on their websites. Hopefully, with time, it will improve.

Prixa is working on an ambitious artificial intelligence project. Is it a big deal for digital media?

Riri One is a text-to-speech engine that can be used for Nepali, Newari, and Maithili languages. Riri two and three will be released soon. Riri Two knows what people are talking about. The speech-to-text engine is in the pilot stage. Riri Three is an end to end engine.

I am thankful for working with Annapurna Media Network. Text-to-speech was already used in some smaller projects. The Nepali media industry is the first of its kind to have Riri production. There are a lot of things that need to be updated.

There is a high rate of response from users. For the first time, we are seeing a breakthrough in our work with media houses. Users are consuming audio news at a higher rate. It is a good step to fill a gap in the digital media sector.

Web security has become a big concern. Our websites are vulnerable.

100 percent data security can't be guaranteed. Data security is a baseline responsibility of IT. I think carelessness in practicing ground practices is a problem.

The government is investigating the hack incident. Hopefully, the security task force will bring a positive result. The management team needs to look at the problems and the government needs to prioritize.

The government has been storing sensitive data in a digital format. Public privacy and national security are at risk. IT companies and the government need to work together to solve the problems. There is a data breach in both the government and private sectors.

What is the best way to get into IT?

They should explore the opportunities in diversified fields, but be careful about preparing themselves in a certain way from the ground up. They must not think that the opportunities are only in the United States. I am doing something here in Nepal alone and my colleagues are doing the same. We are looking for fresh graduates to help the candidates. There are oceans of things that are left undone because of the diversified nature of this sector.

What are the newest trends in the field of artificial intelligence?

Advances in generative artificial intelligence have been made. Businesses are embracing the concept of the ledger. Nepal is one of the top countries to log in to chat GPT. Nepal shouldn't fall behind because the world is getting better with artificial intelligence. This is how the business world is going to be in the future.