Affectiva,
the global leader in Emotion AI and the pioneer of Human Perception AI,
today announced that it has closed $26 million in funding. The round,
led by Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV), as well as Trend Forward Capital, Motley
Fool Ventures and CAC, brings the total invested in Affectiva to $53
million. The funding will enable Affectiva to evolve, accelerate and
scale its perceptive technology in the automotive industry, as well as
other areas such as conversational interfaces, social robotics and
market research.
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Affectiva’s Human Perception AI will detect nuanced emotions as well as complex cognitive states, activities, interactions and objects people use in a vehicle. (Photo: Business Wire)
Affectiva created and defined the category of Emotion AI, which now
encompasses a rich
ecosystem of players and is set to become a multi-billion dollar
industry. Building on its proven expertise in deep learning, computer
vision and speech science, combined with its massive amounts of
real-world data, Affectiva’s AI is pioneering the next frontier of
artificial intelligence: Human Perception AI, software that can
understand all things human. Human Perception AI will detect nuanced
emotions as well as complex cognitive states, activities, interactions
and objects people use.
“Since day one, we’ve been on a mission to humanize technology,” said
Dr. Rana el Kaliouby, co-founder and CEO of Affectiva. “We’re seeing
significant demand from the automotive industry in particular, as OEMs
and Tier 1 suppliers concentrate on creating safer, more comfortable
experiences for drivers and passengers. As our technology has evolved to
detect more than just emotions, the automotive industry will be able to
build intelligent vehicles that can better adapt and relate to the needs
of people inside of them.”
Affectiva will use its latest round of funding to fuel deployment of its
Human Perception AI in production vehicles. Already, leading OEMs, Tier
1 suppliers, ridesharing providers, fleet management companies and
developers of autonomous vehicles are working with Affectiva’s Automotive
AI solution to understand drivers’ and passengers’ states and moods.
“We are working closely with Affectiva to commercialize advanced sensing
solutions that enhance perception systems inside the vehicle,” said
David Paja, Aptiv’s senior vice president and president of Advanced
Safety & User Experience. “Aptiv has a rich history of bringing leading
vehicle safety solutions to market, and together with Affectiva, we are
using a powerful combination of Human Perception AI and predictive
analytics, running on Aptiv’s high-speed computing platforms, to
dramatically improve safety, attention management and the overall ride
experience.”
“Human Perception AI will unlock a deep understanding of the human
experience in vehicles and other facets of our everyday lives,” Dr. el
Kaliouby continued. “Particularly for conversational interfaces, social
robots and smart devices, Human Perception AI will be key in making
interactions between people and AI more effective, relational and
productive. Ultimately, that level of understanding will also foster
mutual trust between people and AI, which is crucial as AI takes on more
roles in society. Affectiva is proud to be pioneering a new AI category
that will strengthen and facilitate that trust.”
About Affectiva
Affectiva
envisions a world where technology understands all things human. An MIT
Media Lab spin-off, Affectiva created and defined the Emotion AI
category. Having evolved beyond emotion detection, Affectiva is the
pioneer of Human Perception AI: software that can detect nuanced human
emotions, complex cognitive states, activities, interactions and objects
people use. Built on deep learning, computer vision, speech science and
massive amounts of real-world data, Affectiva’s Human Perception AI is
enabling leading automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, ridesharing
providers and fleet management companies to build intelligent vehicles
that can perceive all things happening with the people inside of them.
Affectiva’s technology is also used by 25 percent of the Fortune Global
500 companies to test consumer engagement with ads, videos and TV
programming.
For more information, visit www.affectiva.com
or follow on Twitter
and LinkedIn.
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