Daimler takes stake in Kiwi tech company
New Zealand digital business avatar creator Soul Machines has a “significant” new shareholder, the financial services arm of German premium carmaker Daimler AG.
The high-tech, Auckland-based company won’t reveal the size of Daimler Financial Services investment, but co-founder and director Greg Cross said it was significant and would put Soul Machines in a stronger position to develop and test its disruptive technology in the automotive sector.
The two companies earlier this year presented digital avatar “Sarah” to a global sector conference in Spain.
Daimler said since then Sarah had been successful in answering most frequently asked customer questions during a pilot at one of its call centres in the US. It said it planned to use Soul Machines’ technology to optimise customer experience through artificial and emotional intelligence.
Soul Machines was spun out of the University of Auckland and since it was founded in 2016 has grown from 12 to 80 AI researchers, neuroscientists, psychologists and artists. Cross said its aim is to make human interaction with machines and AI personalised and friendly with life-like, emotionally responsive, artificial humans with personality and character.
Soul Machines’ digital avatars were used by some of the biggest corporate brands in the world in the banking and finance, software and technology, automotive, healthcare, energy and education industries. Closer to home, the ANZ Bank is deploying Soul Machines’ digital avatar “Jamie”.
Soul Machines’ major shareholder, according to Companies Office records, is co-founder Dr Mark Sagar, director of the Laboratory for Animate Technology at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and a twotime Academy Award winner for his pioneering work in computer facial animation in the entertainment industry. His movie credits include King Kong and Avatar.
Soul Machines’ backers and clients include Hong Kong-based global heavyweight investor Horizons Ventures, IBM and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Cross said Soul Machines was also involved in the healthcare sector and was working with Dr Lance O’Sullivan who had raised public awareness about the lack of GPs in rural areas.
Soul Machines had “proof of concept” for a digital doctor, which could provide services to areas in which doctors had chosen not to live.