Observe.AI, an artificial intelligence-based startup developing transcription and analytics software for voice calls, has raised $54 million (Rs 396 crore at current exchange rates) in a Series B funding round.
California-based Menlo Ventures led the round, Observe.AI said in a statement. Menlo Ventures provides funding for seed-, early- and growth-stage companies. Its partner Steve Sloane will join the board of Observe.AI.
San Francisco-based Observe.AI, which is operated by Z21 Labs Inc. and has an office in Bengaluru, said other participants in this round include Next47 Ventures and NGP Capital.
The Series B fundraise takes the total capital the startup has raised within a year to $80 million. In December, Observe.AI had raised $26 million in a Series A round led by Scale Venture Partners. Other investors that participated in that round included Nexus Venture Partners, Steadview Capital, 01 Advisors and Emergent Ventures.
The startup said it will use the fresh capital to accelerate growth and expand its team, as well as invest further in its research and development and go-to-market efforts.
Observe.AI was founded in 2017 by Swapnil Jain, Akash Singh and Sharath Keshava Narayana. In August 2018, the company raised $8 million in a funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners.
The company uses its voice AI platform to leverage speech and natural language processing techniques. This allows customers to conduct a quality check of all customer service calls and ensure compliance with protocols.
“We see a massive market opportunity to solve automation, data capture, and collaboration problems that prevent enterprises from delivering the kinds of support experiences that customers deserve,” Menlo’s Sloane said.
Observe.AI says it has 105 staffers and over 150 customers across the world, including firms such as Tripadvisor, Root Insurance, Alcon Laboratories and Pearson.
Several AI-based companies across sectors have seen continued interest from investors over the past couple of years. Last week, for instance, food trend identification and prediction platform Spoonshot Inc. raised $1 million in a seed funding round led by SRI Capital. Also this month, the emotion analytics-focussed Entropik Technologies Pvt. Ltd raised $8 million in a Series A round led by Alpha Wave Incubation.
In August, multinational digital transformation solutions firm UST Global invested in sensory sciences and customer experience firm Tastry Inc. Also last month, video analytics firm Wobot Intelligence Pvt. Ltd raised an undisclosed sum in pre-Series A capital from Sequoia India.
