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Tera Ventures leads investment into Snackable AI
September 19, 2019Estonia-USA startup Snackable AI raised $1.4 million in seed investment to make spoken word searchable
Estonian-American startup Snackable AI that created an artificial intelligence-based audio content search engine raised 1.4 million dollars (1.27 million euros) in seed investment, the majority of which were provided by Estonian investors. The company that was founded in 2018 is planning to use the investment for market entry and to expand its development team in Estonia.
The second investment round for Snackable was led by the Estonian venture capital fund Tera Ventures. The round was joined by existing investor Superangel and one of the founders of Skype, Jaan Tallinn, who is known for his work and many investments in artificial intelligence. Since 2018, Snackable AI has raised a total of 2.3 million dollars. Snackable counts respected US business angels such as media veteran Richard Sarnoff as investors and supporters of the company.
Snackable AI is developing an artificial intelligence-based search engine that allows users to find relevant audio content in podcasts, audio books, videos and other media that contains audio. Using natural language processing and machine learning, Snackable’s technology helps users find specific mentions from different recordings, taking into consideration the context and providing the result in a short “snackable” format – saving the user from having to listen through long recordings in order to find the content that interests him or her.
The 1.4 million dollars raised in this investment round will be used to expand the team and for market entry. Snackable’s technology platform is designated for business customers and, as of today, is in the development stage. The company has run private pilots with various leading media companies in the USA, such as Slate. A number of customers will launch in the coming months.
According to the founder and CEO of Snackable AI Mari Joller, entering the market will require expanding the team both in New York at Snackable’s headquarters, as well as in Tallinn, where the development office is located. “We will definitely continue and expand our operation in Estonia, as engineers here have the required know-how to develop technologies based on artificial intelligence. We are constantly looking for new talent in order to provide Estonian developers with the opportunity to work alongside top professionals in our field and develop game-changing technologies”, said Joller.
The founder and partner of Tera Ventures Stanislav Ivanov notes that the investment decision was based on the confidence that Snackable’s artificial intelligence-based application will lead to a long-awaited ability to navigate in the world of audio recordings: “Snackable is adding a new dimension to previous search possibilities: it will allow the user to discover exciting audio recordings by analyzing their actual content and context, not just the titles. In addition to that, the application is able to identify the most significant parts of the recording, which will save the user time and improve the listening experience.”
Ivanov added that Tera Ventures provides its portfolio companies access to expert knowledge and practical assistance required to help them grow into mature companies and raise capital from international investors. Tera Ventures also helps startups develop networks in markets where the portfolio companies want to expand, such as the UK, the USA and Asia. Tera Ventures portfolio includes many successful Estonian startups, such as Realeyes, GrabCAD, Cleveron, Monese, Jobbatical, Scoro, etc.
Snackable AI was founded in 2018 by the Estonian Mari Joller. Mari Joller is an experienced entrepreneur who in the recent years has been focusing on the development of technologies and companies based on artificial intelligence. Previously she founded Scarlet, a proactive voice assistant, and managed the creation of new product units at Nokia and Virgin Mobile. Mari Joller received her Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College and a Master’s degree from Harvard University in the USA.
Video introducing the Snackable AI application:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10uTSfy6TYrlWljVedeaKr_HLR5oKDi9u/view?usp=sharing
Photo of Mari Joller (author: Andres Raudjalg).
Want to hear more about Snackable AI and the investment round? Come join our Unpanel already next Tuesday, September 24 at 18:15, where our very own Stanislav Ivanov will be talking with Snackable’s CEO Mari Joller. In this event of Tera Ventures Unpanel series, we will talk about the story behind Snackable AI, its investment round, and opportunities in the audio content space.
- 18:15 Doors & networking with pizza and beers plus non-alcoholic beverages
- 19:00-19:45 Unpanel with Stanislav Ivanov and Mari Joller
- 19:45 Networking
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