Mylestone Raises $2.5 Million to Make Memories Accessible via Virtual Assistants, Beginning with Amazon's Alexa
The Financing Round was led by True Ventures, with Boston Seed Capital, Converge Ventures and Founder Collective Participating
BOSTON, Feb. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mylestone (www.mylestone.com), a company that makes memories accessible via Amazon's Alexa and other virtual assistants, has announced today that it has raised $2.5 million in new funding led by True Ventures with participation from Founder Collective, Boston Seed Capital, Converge Ventures and Mergelane. This brings Mylestone's total funding to $4.5M.
The company is the first to utilize memory artifacts, including photographs and social data, to generate enriched narratives that are available on command via virtual assistants. Their technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) and human inspection to identify common themes, and then translates those into compelling narratives.
"The rise of virtual assistants has given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to re-imagine how we remember life's most precious moments," said Balter. "Imagine bedtime stories told by grandpa who passed away decades ago. Or being able to recall that glorious moment she said "yes" or the magical feeling of that special trip to the Grand Canyon, on command."
According to Voicelabs.co, applications on Amazon's Alexa grew 500% in the second half of 2016. Adam Marchick, CEO of Voicelabs.co noted, "The early pioneers in the Voice ecosystem should see massive dividends. The top Alexa skills are novelties and utilities - with Mylestone aiming to revolutionize how consumers memorialize, this may be one of the leading skills to deliver a transformational behavior change in our lives."
Tony Conrad, True Venture Partner and Founder of about.me noted, "We've partnered with Dave before on Smarterer, and know he loves to work on the cutting edge of the future. Preserving legacies via AI and Virtual Assistants is something one only imagined a decade ago. Today people are still using these devices for setting a timer or getting the news; tomorrow these devices will help enrich our lives."
"This is one of those swing-for-the-fences type of ideas," said David Frankel, Partner at Founder Collective. "Mylestone is tapping into the mainstreaming of voice activated assistants to put tech-enabled human connection and memory at the center of consumer experience."
Mylestone is led by serial entrepreneur and founder/CEO Dave Balter, whose last companies include BzzAgent (acquired by Tesco in 2011) and Smarterer (acquired by Pluralsight in 2014).
About Mylestone
Mylestone's mission is to ensure life's most precious memories are accessible upon command. Utilizing memory artifacts, and a combination of artificial intelligence and external data, the company generates narratives that are available via virtual assistants, such as Alexa. Mylestone is led by veteran founder/CEO Dave Balter, and is comprised of an experienced team of technologists and entrepreneurs.
Learn more: www.mylestone.com
About True Ventures
True Ventures is the premiere early stage venture capital firm. We invest in the best people who are creating companies in proven high growth sectors of the high tech industry. Since inception in 2006, we have provided visionary Founders with a trusted, seasoned partner, and we actively facilitate a powerful community to help foster growth and innovation.
Media contact:
Dave Balter
[email protected]
(617) 982-3559
SOURCE Mylestone
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