• Affectiva

  Participated · Series C · Aug 2012

  Affectiva is a pioneer of Emotion AI and a developer of Human Perception AI that leverages deep learning, computer vision, speech science and large real-world datasets to detect nuanced emotions, complex cognitive states, activities, interactions and objects. An MIT Media Lab spin-off, the company supplies Automotive AI solutions to OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, ridesharing providers, fleet managers and autonomous-vehicle developers to understand drivers' and passengers' states and moods. Its technology is also used by 25 percent of the Fortune Global 500 to test consumer engagement with ads, videos and TV programming. The company plans to use new funding to deploy Human Perception AI in production vehicles and expand in conversational interfaces, social robotics and market research. Leadership emphasizes creating safer, more comfortable in-vehicle experiences through attention management and predictive analytics integrated with vehicle computing platforms. Financially, Affectiva closed a $26 million funding round that brings total invested capital to $53 million. Affectiva develops emotion recognition technology that enables developers to create hyper-personalized experiences across industries such as gaming, advertising, healthcare and automotive. Its solutions allow adaptive games that change based on a player’s mood, clinical research applications that respond to a patient’s emotional state, and video communication platforms that optimize presentations based on audience engagement. An MIT Media Lab spin-off, the company provides its solutions to more than 1,400 brands to gather insight and analytics in consumer emotional engagement. The company raised $14M in venture capital and intends to use the funds to hire new people, continue innovating in Emotion AI, and accelerate growth into global markets. Leadership changes announced alongside the round include Nick Langeveld named Chairman of the Board and Dr. Rana el Kaliouby moving into the role of Chief Executive Officer. Founded in 2009 by Rosalind W. Picard and Rana el Kaliouby out of the MIT Media Lab, Affectiva develops facial-tracking technology to measure human emotional responses. Its core product, Affdex, is used to test and optimize ad effectiveness and is deployed by clients including WPP's Millward Brown. The company also produces a Q Sensor wearable biometric device, used by “hundreds” of universities and corporations. Affectiva is building a large repository of facial-response data from users in more than 20 countries to help content creators understand cultural differences in reactions. The company plans to use its new funding to move Affdex beyond advertising into consumer-facing applications, social environments, and games. Financially, the company has raised $12M in the announced Series C and has total funding of $20.2M alongside grants from the National Science Foundation; Mary Meeker and Frank Meehan joined its advisory/board ranks as part of the financing. Affectiva spun out of MIT’s Media Lab and builds emotion-measurement technology for ad and brand testing. Its core product, Affdex, uses webcams to track viewers’ responses to videos and can recognize complex emotions such as confusion. The company also offers a wireless biosensor called the Q Sensor. Affectiva says Affdex has been used to crowdsource readers’ responses at Forbes.com and to test Super Bowl campaigns with research agency Millward Brown. It will use a $500,000 NSF grant to continue developing Affdex and to build an "emotional norms database" to benchmark ad engagement and cross-country responses. The startup has raised venture funding, most recently a $5.7M Series B, and says its technology could eventually expand beyond ad testing to help people with autism understand facial expressions. Affectiva is a Waltham, MA company founded in 2009 by MIT scientists Rosalind W. Picard and Rana el Kaliouby and led by CEO Dave Berman. The company develops the Affdex software, which reads emotional states such as liking and attention from facial expressions using a webcam and employs computer vision, machine learning and patented methods to interpret non-verbal responses at scale. It also develops the Q Sensor, a wearable biometric sensor used by more than 100 universities and corporations to track excitement, engagement, stress and anxiety. Affectiva intends to use new funding to expand development and marketing of Affdex and to advance the Q wearable. The company positions its technology to help understand how people feel in order to improve products and experiences.

• Ensequence

  Led · Equity · May 2012

  Ensequence's core product is the Ensequence iTV Manager® interactive platform, which solves the technical complexities of creating and deploying branded interactive television experiences across cable, satellite, telco and connected devices. For over 10 years the company has enabled major programmers, service providers and advertisers to increase programming ratings, advertising effectiveness and merchandise sales. Its customers include NBCUniversal, MTV Networks, Showtime Networks, Turner Broadcasting, HBO, QVC and service providers such as Comcast, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable and Verizon. Brand advertisers using the platform include Ford, Geico, Jeep, Neutrogena, Nike, Toyota and Visa. Fast adoption of smartphones, tablets and connected TV is a stated growth opportunity, and Ensequence intends to use new funding to accelerate expansion into mobile and connected-TV experiences. The company emphasizes eliminating fragmentation and operational complexity for clients deploying interactivity across multiple platforms and devices. Ensequence is a New York-based interactive television company that builds solutions to mitigate the technical complexities of interactive TV implementation. Its products enable programmers, distributors and advertisers to deliver a high volume of interactive TV experiences across cable, satellite and IPTV. The company announced it secured an additional $20M in financing led by Clay Mathile, CEO of CYMI Technologies. The new funds will be used to continue providing and scaling its interactive TV solutions and to build on the company's momentum. Leadership changed as Peter Low, formerly president and COO, was appointed President and CEO; former CEO Dalen Harrison remains on the board and will continue developing new business opportunities. Company executives described the funding as an "extreme vote of confidence" amid a challenging business environment.

No current team members are available.