Berlin-based i2x, a provider of a real-time communications analysis and training platform, announced on Monday that it has secured €11M in a round led by UVC Partners and Bridge to Growth.
New investor Heiko Hubertz also joined the round with existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Venture, btov Partners, Discovery Ventures, and Asgard.
Besides funding, the German company also announced the appointment of Stefan Walther as Managing Director. In his new role, Walther, currently Chief Technology Officer, will drive continuous internationalisation and a sustainable growth strategy, says the company.
“Our vision is to provide AI-powered, personalised recommendations, training content and real-time coaching to every customer advisor and agent. With our latest, unique feature in the area of customer satisfaction, we are realising the collaboration between humans and artificial intelligence in the best possible sense,” says Stefan Walther.
He adds, “It’s also important to me that we don’t just fully comply with European data protection regulations, but that we actually go one step further. That’s why we’re developing procedures that provide individualised support and guidance while fully protecting the privacy of the individual.”
Monday’s announcement comes three years after raising €10M in a Series A funding round in February 2019.
Fund utilisation
The Berlin-based company says it will use the funds to accelerate product development and the expansion of its partner network. The company plans to invest €100M in expanding its proprietary technology by 2027.
The startup also intends to host one of the largest private investment programmes in AI, in Europe.
“We are very pleased that our existing investors as well as prominent new investors have placed their trust in i2x and continue to support our vision. With strong partners like UVC Partners with its expertise in building B2B companies, BTG with its many years of experience in scaling companies, and Heiko Hubertz with his knowledge of influencing human behaviour, we are well placed to achieve our ambitious goals,” says Michael Brehm, founder of i2x.
So far, i2x has recorded over ten patents in audio interface systems, accent and dialect processing, speech and audio data modification, and anonymisation.
i2x: What you need to know
Founded by Michael Brehm, i2x’s software analyses and transcribes complex conversations in several languages in real-time (less than 0.5 seconds), leveraging speech recognition technology powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
As a result, users receive live feedback and assistance to help optimise their sales and service conversations.
i2x says the revenue generated by employees with the help of its technology increased by up to 70 percent, while maintaining the same cost structure.
i2x also claims that companies were able to increase employee satisfaction by around 15 per cent and customer satisfaction by 30 per cent.
In the last 12 months, the company has witnessed 400 per cent growth in both customers and revenue.
Investors
UVC Partners is a German early-stage venture capital firm that invests in European B2B startups in enterprise software, industrial technologies, and mobility. The VC invests between €0.5M and 10M initially and up to €30M in total per company.
“We see i2x and its AI solution as a unique player in the European space. The speed of transcription, speech analysis, and feedback for users, coupled with the very high standard of data protection, makes i2x currently the most attractive provider of support for call centre staff in the areas of sales and customer service,” says Ingo Potthof, Managing Partner at UVC Partners.
“Human augmentation is the future. Forecasts for global market growth in this sector are in the double digits for the next few years. This is exactly where i2x’s solution is focused, with the aim of helping people take communication to a whole new level,” says Götz Gleichmann, Partner at BTG.
