Envestnet Yodlee Acquires Conversational Banking Startup Abe AI

Envestnet | Yodlee, the data aggregator and analytics provider, announced last week that it has acquired conversational banking software startup Abe AI. The Abe AI technology was apparently already incorporated into some of Yodlee’s APIs and banking solutions and will be added to Envestnet’s wealth management offerings in the future. The announcement summarizes the benefits for Yodlee’s Financial Service Provider (FSP) customers:

“Using natural language processing specifically tailored to financial services, Envestnet | Yodlee Conversational AI enables FSPs to connect directly with consumers across all major conversational ecosystems, including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The recently acquired Abe AI…will enable consumers to speak naturally and engage in human-like dialogue with their FSP.”

The Expansion of Conversational AI in Banking and Wealth Management

Envestnet | Yodlee has launched a new landing page on the company website dedicated to conversational AI solutions for FSPs. On the surface, there is the ability to deliver chatbot or voice experiences for consumers. However, Envestnet | Yodlee views this through the prism of data collection and analytics and how you can bring insights together with a conversational interface to improve services for consumers.

Abe AI was one of several voice app development solutions along with companies such as Clinc AI and Conversation.One that focused on conversational banking. Clinc has since expanded its focus into other enterprise applications which may suggest the banking sector is not growing quickly enough today to support multiple specialists or banks prefer to develop these capabilities in-house. The Abe AI website is still up and running, but no new posts have been made since last summer and the last press listing is from 2017.

Abe AI had previously raised $120,000 in April 2017 as part of its participation in a Techstars accelerator according to Pitchbook. At the time, the company valuation was reported as $333,000. Abe AI also participated in the Plug and Play Tech Center accelerator in March 2018.

Follow @bretkinsella Follow @voicebotai

Storyflow Backed With $500,000 in Seed Funding led by Ripple Ventures

Adam Marchick CEO Alpine AI Discusses Headspace Acquisition – Voicebot Podcast Ep 60