Liberty Global and IDG Ventures Join Google, Samsung, Intel and Telefonica in Backing Expect Labs

SAN FRANCISCO, July 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Expect Labs, the San Francisco company that pioneered the field of Anticipatory Computing, today announced a new investment from Liberty Global Ventures and IDG Ventures USA.  They join Expect Labs' existing strategic investors, which include Google, Intel, Samsung, and Telefónica.  Expect Labs' technology platform, the Anticipatory Computing Engine, is the first commercial solution designed to analyze and understand conversations in real-time, and proactively find related information.  This new strategic investment will accelerate Expect Labs' efforts to extend its technology platform across multiple industry verticals and geographic markets.

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Founded in 2011, Expect Labs has pioneered a new generation of intelligent assistants that can understand conversations and anticipate information that we may need.  Expect Labs' platform creates a real-time context model that can be used to proactively find information a user might want before having to search for it.  With the proceeds of the new investment, Expect Labs will begin working to enable new types of context-aware, predictive intelligence in a wide variety of applications and devices.

Liberty Global Ventures is an investment fund owned by the world's largest international cable company with operations in 14 countries.  Liberty Global's market-leading television, broadband internet, and telephony services, are provided through next-generation networks and innovative technology platforms. As of June 7, 2013, approximately 25 million Liberty Global customers subscribe to over 47 million services.  Through its partnership with Expect Labs, Liberty will enable new cutting-edge services ranging from context-aware voice and video calling to voice-driven discovery of on-demand video content.

"In just a few years, many of us will live in connected homes where the computing devices all around us will be able to understand what we say and quickly answer our questions or find information we may need," said Ankur Prakash, Vice President, Liberty Global Ventures.  "We are looking forward to working with Expect Labs to make these kinds of applications possible."

IDG Ventures USA is the North American investment fund affiliated with International Data Group, the world's leading technology media, events, and research company.  IDG's products and services reach an audience of more than 280 million technology buyers in 97 countries.  IDG Ventures USA invested in Expect Labs first institutional round, which was announced last year, and is increasing its investment in the company as part of this strategic financing round.

"The past year has witnessed the emergence of a new class of Anticipatory Computing applications," said Alex Rosen of IDG Ventures USA.  "Expect Labs has been at the forefront of this movement, which will no doubt transform our industry and many others in the years to come."

Liberty Global Ventures and IDG Ventures USA join Expect Labs' existing investors, which include prominent Silicon Valley venture firms as well as the leading players in key vertical markets, including consumer devices, Internet services and search, semiconductors, telecommunications, cable and broadband, and media and communications.  In addition to Liberty Global and IDG, Expect Labs' backers include Google, Samsung, Intel, Telefónica, Greylock Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, KPG Ventures, and Quest Venture Partners, and several well-known angel investors.

"For the past few decades, the holy grail for artificial intelligence has been to develop technologies that can understand natural conversation and respond intelligently. For the first time, these technologies look to be within reach," said Timothy Tuttle, Expect Labs' CEO and founder. "We are grateful to have the support of several of the world's largest and most forward-thinking technology companies to help us tackle this ambitious and fundamentally important technical challenge."

Since emerging from stealth mode in 2012, Expect Labs has been widely recognized as a leader in the fast-emerging field of Anticipatory Computing and has received numerous accolades, including finalist honors at the 2012 TechCrunch Disrupt startup competition, the 2013 CES Mobile App Showdown, and the 2013 SXSW Innovative Technology Accelerator.  Expect Labs' MindMeld iPad app was also selected as "Best in Show" at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show and was featured by Popular Science magazine as one of the "hottest gadgets" of 2013.

About Expect Labs
Expect Labs is a technology company based in San Francisco that is building a platform to power a new generation of digital assistants that can understand continuous conversation and find the information users want before they need to search for it. Expect Labs is also the creator of the iPad app MindMeld, which is the first intelligent assistant that can understand conversations in real-time to make it easy to find and share related information as people talk. Expect Labs was founded in early 2011 by successful, repeat entrepreneurs who have built and sold large-scale Internet businesses. The team includes PhDs and world-class researchers from places like the MIT AI Lab, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and Bell Labs. The company is backed by Google, Samsung, Intel, Liberty Global, Telefónica, Greylock Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, IDG Ventures, KPG Ventures, Quest Venture Partners and several prominent angel investors. For more information on Expect Labs, visit www.expectlabs.com or follow @ExpectLabs and @GetMindMeld on Twitter.

About Liberty Global
Liberty Global is the largest international cable company with operations in 14 countries. We connect people to the digital world and enable them to discover and experience its endless possibilities. Our market-leading triple-play services are provided through next-generation networks and innovative technology platforms that connect approximately 25 million customers subscribing to over 47 million television, broadband internet and telephony services.

About IDG Ventures USA
IDG Ventures USA is part of the global IDG Ventures network of venture capital funds with approximately $3.6 billion under management and a portfolio of over 220 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of five independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. Each partnership makes investments on behalf of its limited partners, including International Data Group (IDG), the world's largest IT media company. By combining the IDG platform – an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research (IDC), and conferences and exhibition resources – with years of hands-on experience in early-stage company building, each IDG Ventures fund helps companies understand their markets better and penetrate them faster.

Media Contacts
Expect Labs
Jeff Koo, (415) 321-1866
[email protected]

SOURCE Expect Labs