The generative AI startup Tomato.ai Inc. has raised a $2.1 million seed fundraising round. The company uses artificial intelligence to enhance voice communications.
“Gaingels, a new investor, joined the round headed by Cardumen Capital and Recursive Ventures. The investment announcement and the release of Tomato.ai’s first two products, a more conventional noise canceling feature and an innovative AI-powered “accent softening” tool, are made at the same time.”
The flagship product of the company is Tomato.ai Accent Softening, which is aimed at call center agents. Locally installed on a PC or mobile device, it is said to preserve the unique qualities of every accent while emphasizing the importance of clear communication. It is made to work with well-known communication programs such as Zoom, Teams, and Meet.
The system operates using exclusive artificial intelligence models that are trained to produce speech with less accent in real time, while preserving the distinctiveness of the speaker’s voice. The speakers will sound natural and less accented, in other words. Based on its instantaneous functionality for all speakers, Tomato.ai predicts that, like noise reduction technologies, it will soon become the new norm in the communications industry.
The business also unveiled a more conventional Noise Cancellation tool that employs generative AI to completely remove background noise from the equation while recreating the speaker’s voice. It can be accessed via the same PC application, and according to the startup, tests have shown that it works better than denoising headsets and other software-based devices.
Ofer Ronen, the CEO and co-founder of Tomato.ai, stated in a blog post that “it also works exceptionally well at removing other voices and music for customers on the other end— even if the sound to remove is right next to the main speaker.” Providing excellent customer service can be incredibly stressful, even in the absence of language problems. Accents can cause problems in certain settings when clarity is crucial, particularly in stressful or urgent situations.
According to the business, its solutions would enhance call center agents’ productivity, raise customer happiness and retention rates, and produce better interactions all around. Agents will have more authority to attain greater charges.
According to Tomato.ai, businesses can benefit greatly from its solutions since they can help close the performance gap between in-house and offshore call center personnel, which will help reduce customer annoyance.
According to the startup, its noise cancellation tools will be used more widely in call centers throughout the world, while its accent softening tools will be partnered with several international call centers in the Philippines, India, and Pakistan.
Accent softening, according to Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc., is one of the more creative new use cases made possible by generative AI and has the potential to make interactions easier.
According to the researcher, “removing strong accents makes spoken English much clearer, which leads to more empathy and customer intimacy.” “A call center representative might establish a stronger relationship and streamline the resolution process by imitating the caller’s accent on the spot, so removing any problems stemming from unclear communication. We’ll soon find out if Tomato.ai’s generative AI solution to a real-world issue is well-received by clients.