Uniphore adds video AI to voice biometrics and speech solutions portfolio with acquisition

Indian speech biometrics company Uniphore says it has acquired Emotion Research Lab, a video and emotion artificial intelligence outfit, with the goal of increasing and enhancing its speech and voice recognition and conversational automation system while also facilitating market growth.

The deal is Uniphore’s second major acquisition after it announced the takeover of Robotic Process Automation technology in October last year.

According to a company announcement, the new deal will allow for the deployment of Emotion Research Lab’s broad video-based artificial intelligence capabilities to make available new applications and experiences, supporting use cases such as customer experience personalization, sales, marketing, and human resource management.

The merger is expected to enhance user experiences by delivering high-quality Conversational Service Automation (CSA) and collaboration resources to enhance communication on Uniphore’s platform, while also driving positive business figures.

With the new range of video AI capabilities, communications and interactions on the Uniphore system will enhance real-time engagement between people by detecting eye and facial movement, facial expressions of emotions, attention span and engagement, among others to perform emotion recognition, ensuring that parties are fully engaged and connected to each other during a conversation.

Umesh Sachdev, CEO and co-founder of Uniphore said it is looking forward to working with the new team in order to bring to customers the next generation of their innovative AI and automation technologies.

“Today, we welcome the Emotion Research Lab family to Uniphore and celebrate the addition of not only cutting-edge technology to our portfolio, but a very talented team of professionals who will add high voltage charges to the Uniphore innovation engine. This current pandemic has reshaped traditional customer service and has universally increased the use of video across a range of applications,” said Sachdev.

Uniphore provides voice biometrics through its amVoice solution.

Zeus Keravala, an official of ZK Research also lauded the move, saying it comes at a time when companies are working to improve their customer experience using every available technology.

“When you look at Uniphore’s customer momentum over the last 12 months and see the number of agents and interactions that will be positively impacted by their AI, automation and analytics solutions, then look at their innovation engine both internally and now through acquisitions, you begin to realize this company is really well-positioned to lead and help drive this transformation,” he said.

Emotion Research Lab’s co-founder and CEO, Maria Pocovi, also added her voice: “We are looking forward to this unique opportunity to join such an innovative company and work together alongside a world-class team to scale our technology for customer service.”

Specific financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and staff of Emotion Research Lab are due to join Uniphore’s work force from the second half of the year.

Uniphore raised $38 million back in 2019 to fuel the growth of its CSA and biometric voice authentication solutions.

Article Topics

AI  |  biometrics  |  emotion recognition  |  Emotion Research Lab  |  Uniphore  |  voice biometrics