Investments news

A $1.2 million Defense University Research Instrumentation Program grant from the Department of Defense Office of Naval Research and Army Research Office.

Five UCF professors were awarded grants for equipment out of more than 700 proposals sent in by academic institutions nationwide, two of them immediately relevant to the field of virtual humans:  Mingjie Lin, assistant professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science, requested $201,500 for high-performance computer and robotic training equipment, and Gregory Welch, research professor in the Institute for Simulation and Training requested $281,400 for a physical-virtual human-robot interaction system;

“We are trying to break free from the monitor and bring some of it out of the screen physically in front of you,” said Welch, who is working on a “Sensorium” for a physical-virtual avatar. “Have human-shaped robots change their appearance, behavior and their shape in a way that allows them to be flexible.”

The research could yield a physical-virtual human, Welch said, that could move its arms and face and even give you a smile.

Xaitment, the creators of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) software for video game and simulation developers, announced that it has received 1.2 million euros (approx. $1.6m USD) from two of its main investors, Triangle and KfW, to finance further development of its knowledge modeling and rules-based behavioral modeling software for games and simulations. The high-level AI software that results from the funding is slated to launch in the first half of 2012.

VirtuOz, Inc., the leading provider of intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) for online customer service, today announced that it has raised $7 million in additional funding from existing investors Mohr Davidow, Inventures Group and Galileo Partners to finance growth in the U.S. and E.U.

Alabot an Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Natural Language Processing (NLP) company based in the UK and India, now has been funded by a Malaysia Based Innovation Fund and also secured a contract with one of the large telcos. The application telcos want is an NLP AI guided chat bot for their ringtones and wallpaper properties.

VirtuOz, the provider of intelligent, multilingual virtual support and sales agent solutions, today announced the completion of its Series B round of investment. MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures led the $11.4 million financing. Galileo Partners, which has funded the company since the beginning of its operations, participated in this round, as did Eric Hahn with Inventures Group. The new funds will be used to scale operations and advance product development.

VirtuOz solutions transform the customer support and sales experience online by providing intelligent virtual agents that interact with customers via chat and instant messaging. The agents enable ubiquitous, personal and natural interactions between humans and Internet-based services on a 24/7 basis. The combination of artificial intelligence and natural language processing technologies make the agents capable of understanding a complete range of user requests and comments. The agents welcome, guide, assist, and inform customers and are able to reach specific sales objectives by proposing a personalized and direct link when appropriate.