SapientX Inc.

Voice Technology Software

Company Information

Website:

https://sapientx.com/

Sector:

Computer & Software

Location:

San Francisco, CA

SapientX is a software company developing voice intelligence technology for automotive and consumer companies.

The company’s white-label software is designed to be embedded in products to add a conversational voice and increased intelligence. The software understands context, emotion, complex sentences, and learns a user’s preferences over time.

By 2021, the market for virtual digital assistants is projected to surpass $15 billion. This is compared to $1.6 billion in 2015.

A large part of the growth in this market is due to the emergence of voice assistants like “Siri” and “Alexa.” These virtual assistants introduced the world to products that talk.

But there are problems. For starters, Siri and Alexa don’t understand a lot of what they're asked. So consumers using these platforms are forced to use commands rather than conversations.

In addition, Siri and Alexa collect sensitive user data that companies sell to advertisers.

As a result of these issues, many companies looking to add voice technology to their products and services haven’t done so. Companies want a voice assistant that can integrate with their own products and that will meet their needs — not the needs of an advertising network.

SapientX has created this product.

The company’s voice assistant technology is based on computational linguistics pattern and concept matching techniques inspired by Carnegie Mellon’s Scone program.

This technology has been used by SapientX’s Chief Scientist, Bruce Wilcox, to win the Loebner Prize Turing Test four times. This is an annual competition in artificial intelligence that awards prizes to computer programs considered to be the most “human-like.”

According to company CEO David Colleen, SapientX was started with the goal of creating “a system to let our technology talk to us like we were talking to our best friend.”

SapientX’s software can run in devices as small as a wrist watch and works with or without an Internet connection.

The company is focusing on customers within the “home to car to office” experience chain. This includes companies in the electronics, automotive, robotics, and navigation industries.

In 2016, SapientX created a minimum viable product and released it for beta testing. In 2017, the company added support for Android and iOS devices. This year, it launched an automotive beta.

SapientX has a technology license agreement with Mitsubishi to develop an artificial intelligence assistant for the manufacturer's line of cars in 2020.

SapientX will license its software on a per unit basis with recurring revenue for updates, customization, testing, and support.

Specifically, the company will offer monthly software-as-a-service options for smart home customers and projects to generate $200 in revenue per home. In addition, the company will license its software to TV manufacturers for between $5 to $10 per unit. This could help SapientX generate hundreds of millions of dollars, as Samsung, for example, sells approximately 100 million televisions per year.

SapientX’s automotive unit pricing goal is $20 per car, plus $5 per year for updates and support. These prices are significantly less than Apple, which sells its CarPlay through BMW for $300 per unit.

The company’s automotive sales approach includes interacting with car companies, their R&D centers, and their suppliers.

SapientX’s team has extensive experience developing voice technology. CEO David Colleen previously founded Planet 9 Studios, one of the first companies to use virtual reality and voice technology on the Internet in 1995. The company became known for creating 3D interfaces such as virtual places and talking characters for different products.

Bruce Wilcox previously co-wrote patents on motion control and for gesture interfaces for companies including Fujitsu, 3DO, and Amazon.

With funds raised, SapientX will open sales offices in Detroit, Munich, and Japan to better serve its customers. In addition, the company will develop support for Japanese, German, French, and Spanish speaking voice technology. This will enable SapientX to double its market reach.

Team Background

Bruce Wilcox - Chief Scientist

Bruce has spent decades in the video game industry and as an artificial intelligence research programmer.

He has won the Loebner Prize four times, an annual competition in artificial intelligence that awards prizes to computer programs considered to be the most “human-like.” Bruce has won this award more times than anyone else.

He previously served as a senior software engineer for Amazon, and had a similar role in David’s previous company, Planet 9 Studios.

Bruce spent four years as an artificial intelligence consultant for Fujitsu Laboratories of America, an information technology company, and seven years as an “AI Guru” for 3DO, a video game company.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan.

David Colleen - Founder & CEO

David has specialized in artificial intelligence and virtual reality for more than 20 years.

In 1995, he founded Planet 9 Studios, one of the first companies to use virtual reality and voice technology on the Internet. While there, he developed customer relationships with 17 Fortune 100 companies.

He previously served as a business developer for Matterport, a technology company focused on building 3D cameras and creating virtual tours.

David earned a degree in Architecture and Business Administration from Cornell University.

Hira Daud - Interim CFO

Hira is a full stack developer and has experience engineering mobile systems.

She develops applications for Android, iOS, and HTML5.

Co-Investors

Raising
$1.5 million
Committed
$392.685K (26%)
Current Valuation
$5 million
Min. Investment
$1000
Deal Type
Title III
(For all investors)
Offering Type
Equity
Finance History
Notable Investors
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