Can AI Read Your Mind? Sesh Raises $1.6M
Leslie Ignacio is dot.LA's editorial intern. She is a recent California State University, Northridge graduate and previously worked for El Nuevo Sol, Telemundo and NBC and was named a Chips Quinn Scholar in 2019. As a bilingual journalist, she focuses on covering diversity in news. She's a Los Angeles native who enjoys trips to Disneyland in her free time.
Sesh Corp. wants to read your mind through artificial intelligence. And the Los Angeles-based startup just brought in some help with a $1.6 million pre-seed round to further develop their centerpiece product called Empath.
The software, launched in July, uses Al to help understand emotions and states of mind of individuals on video. Sesh is holding it up as an essential business tool during the pandemic when in-person meetings are near impossible and drawn out Zoom calls are the norm. The company calls it EQ or emotional intelligence on demand.
"With most of the world now communicating by video, being able to truly understand the non-verbal cues, situational context and culture of your meeting participants is crucial to quickly establishing trust, and building meaningful relationships," said co-founder and CEO, David Dorfman in announcing the raise.
Empath reads each user's emotion and they are identified in clouds that show up in the corner of their heads as they are interacting, allowing companies to see what works best in terms of communication. The data is traced and analyzed over time so the user has a better understanding of the subject's state of mind.
The funding will be used to further develop and prepare an Empath Beta that is set to launch next month while increasing customer access, expanding the team and aiming to have a market leader in cognitive Al.
While the application is especially useful during the pandemic when people are relying on video calls to communicate, Sesh thinks it can be a useful tool for sales teams, as a training tool and for market research.
"Whether selling a product, measuring audience reaction, or leading a training and education seminar, effective empathy-powered communications saves time and money, and helps you find consensus and understanding," said Dorfman.
The $1.6 million was raised in a pre-seeding funding round and brought together old and new investors like DreamHost co-founder Josh Jones and venture capitalists Behzad Kianmahd, co-founder of TAU Ventures Kyle Schlotman, partner and CIO, Connetic Ventures and Radest Ventures.
Leslie Ignacio is dot.LA's editorial intern. She is a recent California State University, Northridge graduate and previously worked for El Nuevo Sol, Telemundo and NBC and was named a Chips Quinn Scholar in 2019. As a bilingual journalist, she focuses on covering diversity in news. She's a Los Angeles native who enjoys trips to Disneyland in her free time.
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