The company will use the capital to scale its team, increase its distribution network and expand its hardware and software offerings
Home AI tech provider Josh.ai has reported an $11 million Series A funding round. Since its founding in March 2015, the voice control platform has now raised a total of $22 million. Growing interest in hands-free interfaces for the home, along with the need for a privacy-based AI platform, has sparked investor interest, the company said. Josh.ai will use this capital to scale the team, increase its distribution network, and expand its hardware and software offerings with a focus on privacy.
With this funding, Josh.ai will double down on privacy, an aspect the company believes is critical for its clients. According to CEO Alex Capecelatro, “We believe privacy is a basic human right, particularly when dealing with voice control technology in the most private spaces of a person’s life. We don’t think it’s necessary to have to choose between cutting-edge technology and a feeling of privacy. With Josh.ai, you get both.”
The system allows clients to choose to store data locally for a period of time to assist in learning, or not to store commands at all. Any data collected is used exclusively to make the user experience better. Data is never used for targeted ads. In contrast with most other voice assistants, Josh.ai does not gather and share data for marketing purposes, and never sells client data to third parties.
In the three years since Josh.ai’s $8M funding round in 2017, the company designed, built, and shipped Josh Micro, an all-in-one smart home processor and hands-free voice assistant. The Josh.ai software features a custom natural language processing engine that can handle multiple requests in one command, deep-linking with AV distribution, room and contextual awareness, as well as a proprietary natural language scene creator.
In addition to advanced voice control, Josh.ai recently launched the 4.0 version of their iOS apps, offering unparalleled control over the entire home. With the app, users have the ability to check cameras, see the state of devices, easily create scenes, and control everything with voice or a beautiful GUI, from anywhere in the world.
Josh.ai is a professionally installed home automation platform with integrations that include smart lighting, shades, music, HVAC, AV, security, appliances, and more. Dozens of top integrations and partnerships have been forged with industry leaders such as Lutron, Sony, Sonos, Samsung, Comcast, Dish, Bosch, ecobee, SnapAV, IC Realtime, Roku, Atlona, Meridian, AudioControl, Barco, Sonance, LG, Pioneer, Philips, Sound United, Yamaha, and more. In addition, Josh.ai integrates with other high-end control systems including Crestron, Control4, and Savant.
Josh.ai is sold through a network of professional installers throughout North America. In 2019, the company saw significant growth, doubling its certified installer base to over 400. Josh.ai’s team of approximately 30 is rapidly expanding and uniquely positioning the company to take on the growing demand for an easy-to-use, easy-to-setup, and easy-to-maintain smart home experience.
