New Zealand's Soul Machines raises $40m Series B

Horizons Ventures, which is controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, Salesforce Ventures, University of Auckland Investors Fund, and Switzerland-based VC firm Lakestar also participated. Horizons contributed to a $7.5 million Series A in 2016 alongside Iconiq Capital, a US multi-family office.

Soul Machines was spun out of a University of Auckland program by serial entrepreneur Greg Cross and Mark Sagar, a visual effects expert who has won two Academy Awards for his work in the film industry. It claims to combine expertise in AI, neuroscience, psychology, and art through a “virtual nervous system” that is intelligent, emotive, and adaptive.

The technology, which is supported by biologically inspired models of the human brain and sensory networks, is said to facilitate more intuitive human-computer interactions. This allows corporate clients to create digital ambassadors for their brands and virtual customer service agents that can interact with users in a seemingly natural, face-to-face way.

The company’s core product is the HumanOS platform, which allows businesses to create lifelike animated employee characters online. Clients include Mercedes Benz, Proctor & Gamble, Bank ABC, ANZ Bank. and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Expansions in the education and healthcare sectors are underway, according to a release.

Customer service has been a discrete focus area for AI investors in recent years, with developers noting that brands can more efficiently interact with the public when the process is automated and data-driven systems are able to anticipate user behavior. Recent activity in this space includes a $51 million round for Uniphore, an Indian speech recognition specialist digitizing the call center industry.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Support services
• Technology
• Early-stage
• New Zealand
• Temasek Holdings
• artificial intelligence