Soul Machines: million-dollar investment in digital people

Soul Machines: million-dollar investment in digital people

Soul Machines wants to create lifelike digital humans that can take over tasks from humans on the Internet and Metaverse. Now the startup is getting another million-dollar investment.

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Founded in 2016, startup Soul Machines receives another $70 million in Series B1 funding. The new top investor is the venture capital arm of Japanese telecommunications and media group Softbank. This brings the total capital raised from investors since its inception to $135 million.

Metaverse future: digital people should be everywhere

The investment thesis of the capital providers is that the need for digital people will grow significantly in the future. Soul Machines has roots in animation and AI, and brings this expertise together to mass produce realistically animated and interacting avatars as efficiently as possible. The core target group is companies with digital services and metaverse offerings.

“Soul Machines believes every sector will deploy digital people as a digital workforce to represent themselves and their brands in the metaverse,” Cross said. “The future of customer experience in digital worlds is going to be the key to winning in all the digital worlds where people do business, work, and play.”

AI technology for graphics automation

Softbank manager Anna Lo cites Soul Machine's expertise in artificial intelligence in particular as a reason for the financial move. Global brands worldwide are increasingly investing in AI for "intimate, personalized experiences" with their customers.

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Soul Machines is strong in research and development and offers good back-end solutions, she said. The startup is "at the forefront of developing digital humans" that can help companies with customer interactions in areas such as customer service, training and entertainment.

Their AI can capture and preserve part of the human essence bringing immortality to the digital realm,” says Murtaza Akbar, Managing Partner at Investor Liberty City Ventures Lo said. Soul Machines' customers include companies such as Procter & Gamble, Nestlé and the WHO. The company announced "Human OS 2.0" last May, which allows companies to create their own avatars and bring them to life.

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Sources: PM, Venturebeat