Bharti Airtel invests in AI startup Voicezen
AI has been recognized as an advancing technology instrumental in transforming customer experience. As such, the global conversational AI market size is expected to increase from 4.2 billion dollars in 2019 to 15.7 billion dollars by 2024, according to recent market research.
Based on the surge in demand for better quality of services online, companies have been investing in the implementation of AI powered customer support services and omni-channel deployment to increase customer engagement and retention.
This week, Bharti Airtel acquired 10% stake in Voicezen, an early stage startup focused on conversational AI technologies. The Indian global telecommunications company under its expanding Airtel Startup Accelerator Programme, has made the acquisition, according to the company.
Voicezen is the third startup to become a part of the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program. The startup developed advanced solutions that leverage machine learning, AI and offer real time analytics and insights to make Airtel’s conversations with its customers more engaging, frictionless and support faster resolution.
The deal will give Bharti Airtel preferred access to Voicezens technologies that can be deployed across its customer touch points in various languages, Airtel said in a statement.
Adarsh Nair, Chief Product and Experience Officer, Bharti Airtel said: “Voicezen has built some promising products that are very relevant for a market like India. As part of its strategy to deliver a highly differentiated service experience to its customers, Bharti Airtel has acquired a strategic stake in Voicezen, an early stage start-up focused on conversational AI technologies.”
Apurba Nath, Founder of Voicezen, said that the startup helps brands deliver a better customer experience in Indian languages using ‘Conversational AI’. “Having worked on AI solutions in the past, Voicezen knew that what works well in a lab most often does not work in the real world, because either the training data is not large and relevant or the problem has little business significance,” he added. “Our partnership with Airtel helps us solve these challenges. With this strategic investment, we will work even more closely with them to continuously improve our AI models and build out an enterprise grade,” he noted.