Conversational AI Startup Hyro Raises $10.5M
Industry-focused conversational AI developer Hyro has closed a $10.5 million Series A funding round led by Spero Ventures. Hyro develops voice assistants and chatbots for a few verticals, with its conversational AI for healthcare seeing particular growth over the last year, growth it will use the new funding to secure and build upon.
Hyro Health
Hyro claims its customer base more than quintupled since last year. In part, that’s due to the spike in demand for conversational AI in healthcare due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Early on, Hyro debuted a free version of its virtual assistant for healthcare providers that could answer questions about COVID-19 by text and voice using a World Health Organization database and other reliable sources of information, even asking follow-up questions as needed. The AI was customizable and drew a lot of attention to Hyro and its capabilities.
Then, when the vaccines began distribution, Hyro created VAXA, short for Vaccine Access Solution. VAXA handles phone calls, text messages, and website chat inquiries specifically about the vaccines, eligibility, and can set up patient appointments. Hyro says the COVID-19 AI answered queries from more than 4 million people in the U.S.
Hyro Talk
Hyro’s newest funding, which included Twilio as a participant as well as a new partner for the startup, brings the startup’s total investment to $15 million. The capital influx will be applied to adding new features to the Adaptive Communications Platform, as well as bringing on new staff and clients. That includes expanding its presence in real estate and health care, two verticals that faded in the background a bit during the pandemic but that Hyro will renew its efforts to grow.
“Hyro is pushing the reset button on chatbots and IVR systems. We’re reinventing the way companies and their customers interact by offering adaptive communications, as opposed to intent-based solutions that often break,” Hyro CEO Israel Kush said in a statement. “Chatbots have become a mainstay within customer engagement, but because many are intent-based, they constantly need to be retrained and have limited ability to scale, which forces the enterprise to slow down while also alienating its customers. This funding round enables us to further establish ourselves as the leading Adaptive Communications Platform in high-growth sectors looking to automate valuable interactions at scale.”
Follow @voicebotai Follow @erichschwartz
New Healthcare Virtual Assistant Helps Hospitals Schedule COVID-19 Vaccines
Healthcare AI Startup Hyro Releases Free Coronavirus-Focused Virtual Assistant for Medical Providers
