San Francisco startup, ToyTalk, recently got $11 million in Series A funding for its interactive iPad app, talking teddy bear and the artificial intelligence behind the duo. This means that the company to date has gotten a total of $16 million in cash and has also released its first teaser trailer to give the public an idea of exactly what to expect from the company.
The video from the company, which is featured below does not really divulge much, but people will get an idea of what to expect from the company in terms of quality and functionality. Interestingly, the startup has some very big technology names attached to it, all of whom will aid the firm moving forward. Starting from the top, ToyTalk’s founder and CEO is Oren Jacob who is the former CTO of the highly successful Pixar. Another Pixar alumnus is ToyTalk’s Creative Director, Bobby Podesta. Former Pixar heavy weight Michael Chann is also on board with the startup working with the visual tracking software.
The ToyTalk team has some academics as well like Martin Reddy, a PhD who worked on the early version of Apple’s Siri, and another PhD named Brian Langner who is working as the Senior Speech Specialist for ToyTalk. Renee Adams is another employee that is from Apple and is the head of operations after working at Apple’s retail development and logistics department. Byrne Reese is the head of Customer Development and comes from Moveable Type while James Chalfant is the Director of Scalability.
All these experienced technology executives are working on developing “interactive toys that use a mobile app and tablet to be the eyes, ears, and brain (along with its connection to the web), providing for visual and language recognition as well as intelligent responses.” The bear that is showcased in the video does not seem like it is a robot but probably has sensors and is connected to mobile devices through a wireless connection.
Even though no one knows for sure exactly what the company’s product will be like when it is launched, observers can guess form the type of executives working on the project and the amount of funding that the company is getting that the idea will be revolutionary and should change the way people use toys and tablets to learn and have fun. We at TQ are excited to see what the collective of people from innovative firms have in this wonderful product.
Source: Singularity Hub
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