Made in Canada
Global mission, inclusive values
Join us in our mission to deploy institutional AI infrastructure that enables safe, fair, and effective interactions.
Reverse innovation
Proto proves AI systems in emerging markets prior to redeployment in developed economies.
Equitable access
Proto is committed to equal access to AI systems regardless of language, income, or geography.
Institutional trust
Proto prioritises client trust with security and control features valued more than new AI capabilities.
2018
Proto is founded by Curtis Matlock at the National Taiwan University while studying the Chinese language on the country’s Huayu Enrichment Scholarship.
proto
noun
[prō-tō]
the root of human language
2019
Proto joins the NextAI and Creative Destruction Lab accelerators in Canada, and launches its first chatbots for low-resourced and mixed languages in Southeast Asia.
2020
Proto earns its first public sector clients, starting with the Central Bank of the Philippines, and is recognised in the Inclusive Fintech 50 by Visa, MetLife, IFC, and Accion.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
The multilingual Proto chatbot empowers financial consumers by giving them a more accessible channel for raising complaints. This is in line with the central bank's commitment to pursue innovations in financial services for the benefit of Filipinos.
Benjamin E. Diokno
Governor, Central Bank of the Philippines
2021
Proto expands into Sub-Saharan Africa, deploying at the National Bank of Rwanda with African Development Bank support.
2022
Proto raises its Series A round and expands into private sector industries with enterprise clients like The Medical City, PhilCare, and FINCA.
2023
Proto launches its latest end-to-end platform with generative and voice AI for underserved languages, such as Tagalog and Kinyarwanda.
tgl
Tagalog
rw
Kinyarwanda
2024
Proto partners with the Gates Foundation and Canada's government to deliver national AI communications systems in the Philippines, Rwanda, Namibia, Liberia, Malaysia, and Mozambique.
2025
Proto surpasses 10 billion AI interactions across 20 languages, and is recognised the by the G20 TechSprint.
2026
Proto focuses on its anti-scam centre, patient experience, and insight advisor usecases to deliver the highest social impact with AI.
Our leaders
Curtis Matlock
Curtis is a sales leader dedicated to deploying AI in underserved markets and building diverse teams. He served in Canada’s armed forces, graduated in political science at the Royal Military College of Canada, and studied Chinese at the National Taiwan University. He leads Proto's social impact work with public policy and technology training from the UN's international labour organisation at the University of Turin.
Weiying Kok
Weiying is a natural language processing expert leading Proto’s multinational engineering team and implementing AI deployments for enterprise and governments. Her career started at MIMOS, Malaysia’s applied research and development centre for socio-economic growth, following studies in bioinformatics and cognitive science at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Noella Dushime
Noella is a business expansion leader specialised in the application of new technology to Africa’s public sector. Her career started in the telecom industry and led to Irembo, the e-government platform of Rwanda, where she led growth and partnerships. She studied information technology at Mount Kenya University and computer science at the University of Rwanda.
Erik Klimenko
Erik is a fullstack growth leader specialised in web design and SaaS user experience. His career focuses on AI tools for product-led growth and established enterprise sales processes. He studied international relations at the Saint Petersburg State University and business analytics at the Higher School of Economics.
Remote team, local footprint
Proto serves its clients from key locations in Asia and Africa.
Waterloo
Global
14 Erb St. W,
Waterloo, ON N2L 1S4,
Canada
Waterloo, ON N2L 1S4,
Canada
Quezon City
Asia
711 RCPI Building, New York St.,
Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
Kigali
Africa
Norrsken House,
1 KN 78 St, Kigali,
Rwanda
1 KN 78 St, Kigali,
Rwanda
