M'sian AI startup gets US$250K funding from Silicon Valley for its ChatGPT-like software
Summary
Malaysian artificial intelligence (AI) startup, VOX, had bagged a US$250,000 investment in pre-seed funding from Silicon Valley on Monday, April 24.The team did not specify who the investor is, but shared with Vulcan Post that its from a high-net-worth individual (HNWI). HNWIs are those who have liquid assets of at least US$1 million.Founded by Simone Macario, VOX is described as a conversational AI company whose focus is to solve issues related to human-to-machine interactions (HMI). It does this through a linguist approach, enabling computers to communicate with users and vice versa.In simple words, we teach computers how to talk, the founder said in an interview with Italy Malaysia Business Association (IMBA).The startup has worked with notable F&B brands such as Baskin Robbins, A&W, and OldTown White Coffee.The fresh funds will be used to cover operational costs of the platform for the first 50,000 users of its Sharly.ai platform.Using generative AI technology and VOXs own proprietary technology, Sharly.ai is an AI productivity tool that helps parse information in documents. Those looking to use it for personal matters can access it for free, while industry experts who want it for professional reasons will have to pay US$5 per month.Companies who want a more tailored solution will have to contact the company for a quote.Currently, Sharly.ai is only available in English.To test the programme, we uploaded a document of a book were currently reading by the name of All Marketers Are Liars. We found talents and an early stage ecosystem that also allowed foreign talent employment.True to this sentiment, VOX had bagged seed-stage funding of US$200,000 in 2022 from Indelible Ventures, seed stage venture fund in Malaysia.But deep down we always had global ambition, so as the border reopened we started to spend time between KL and San Francisco, he continued.Hopefully, with startups including VOX leading the charge, the AI landscape in Malaysia will continue to develop and bring in more investments for homegrown AI companies.