Google has started a new investment program for early-stage startups in the digital assistant ecosystem. The aim is to help push forward new ideas and advance the possibilities of what digital assistants can do.
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The new program has several components:
- Investment capital from Google to provide additional financial resources for the development, hiring, and management of these startups.
- Advice from Google engineers, product managers, and design experts to share technical guidance and product development feedback.
- Google partnership programs that provide early access to upcoming features and tools so startups can bring their products to market as quickly as possible.
- Access to the Google Cloud Platform, the suite of cloud computing services that run on the same infrastructure that is used for products like Google Search and YouTube.
- Promotional support through Google marketing channels to drive greater awareness for the features and functionality of these new applications.
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Google is inviting early stage companies that are moving the voice and assistance ecosystem forward. It could be developing technologies that broaden the Assistant’s set of features, building new hardware devices for digital assistants, or focusing on a particular industry such as travel, games, or hospitality. The first batch of investments in the Assistant ecosystem has been made in four companies:
- GoMoment: Creator of Ivy, a 24/7 concierge for hotel guests, capable of providing instant answers to common questions like “Is there a happy hour at the bar tonight?” or “Can I get a late checkout?” Anything requiring human expertise is sent to hotel staff and tracked for quick and reliable resolution. Ivy is used by leading hotels like Caesars Palace, Treasure Island and Hard Rock.
- Edwin: Your personal English tutor powered by AI. Edwin prepares students looking to take English as a foreign language tests, such as the “Test of English as a Foreign Language” (TOEFL). Edwin combines advanced AI technology with the expertise of professional English teachers to tailor every lesson to your individual needs, learning style and pace.
- BotSociety: You can say a million things in a billion different ways to voice assistants, so BotSociety created a tool that allows developers to design, prototype and user test voice interfaces. More than 30,000 developers worldwide have designed their voice assistant applications using Botsociety.
- Pulse Labs: Helping voice application designers understand what their users want to do. With Pulse Labs, developers can test their applications with real people, quickly acquire in-depth insights, and use that feedback to refine the experience.