East-West Digital News 31 May 2012
Speaktoit, a developer of technologies based on natural language conversations, announced last week it has received an investment from Intel’s investment arm, Intel Capital. The investment amount and the startup’s valuation are kept undisclosed.
Founded in Russia in October, 2010, Speaktoit attracted angel money in January, 2011. It also received a grant from Skolkovo, the state-sponsored tech hub nearing completion near Moscow.
But the startup, which targets essentially the global market, now defines itself as “a US company with a Russian research subsidiary,” said CEO Ilya Gelfenbeyn to East-West Digital News. Speaktoit has its offices in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Washington DC, and soon in Sunnyvale, California.
In May, 2011, Speaktoit launched its first product, a talking assistant for smartphones, which can answer questions in natural language, notify users about important events, launch apps and connect users with web services such as Google, Facebook or Twitter. The app works with the smartphone to get maps, search for news and images, look up weather reports, convert currency and measurements, send email, and much more. Users can also choose the assistant’s appearance from a range of types – from a pretty blonde or brunette to a handsome agent or wizened professor.
Read more…