By continuing to visit this website, you agree to our privacy policy and use of cookies.

Agree
News

Proto raises $5.6M Series A for emerging market expansion

5

min read

April 22, 2024
Curtis Matlock (CEO & Founder) and Vanessa Babicz (COO) lead the 30+ global team at Proto, a leading generative AI platform for local customer experience.

The Proto team is delighted to announce that it raised a $5.6M Series A round led by Mucker Capital for emerging market expansion of its AI Customer Experience (AICX) solutions. The round also had participation from current shareholder Yolo Investments.

In the midst of crises that have been especially hard on people in the emerging world – we believe it's more important than ever for organisations to prioritise inclusion as their guiding principle. Here's how Proto is doing this with its conversational AI deployments from Ghana to the Philippines. This Series A round will help Proto expand this mission even further.

Thanks to our clients

Back in 2018 at National Taiwan University, we launched Proto to improve the performance of chatbots for native speakers in the emerging world.

Since then, we've helped governments and enterprises from industries such as financial services and healthcare reach customers in local languages like Kinyarwanda, Tagalog and Twi – as well as common mixed-languages like Taglish and Manglish.

Today, Proto is the leader for inclusive chatbots and multilingual contact centre automation.

We can't thank our clients enough for their trust and partnership in improving machine learning for local languages. Together, we've deployed chatbots that have improved the inclusion and protection of customers that otherwise face long wait times, unresolved cases, and limited language and channel support.

Why this investment?

Mucker Capital Investor Joe Tsai said: "The growth of mobile and internet adoption in the emerging world is stunning, and this continued trend is inevitable. However, due to poor support for their native languages, billions of people are still cut out from critical digital services. Proto’s multilingual, industry-relevant machine learning models and conversational chatbots can unlock greater inclusivity at a massive scale while generating significant ROI for the institutions that adopt it. We are thrilled to support Proto’s mission and partner with Curtis and the entire team."
Yolo Investments General Partner Tim Heath said: "Proto’s great innovation is to use the power of AI to improve the customer experience. The use cases for chatbots are wide-ranging and varied, but ultimately any business serious about offering best-in-class customer support to its users around the world should be exploring this technology. Proto is already leading the pack, and we have absolute confidence in the team to continue to push forward this game-changing field."

About Proto

Proto is a leading provider of local and secure AI solutions for emerging markets. The company is trusted by governments and regulated industries to power inclusive interactions for usecases such as transaction support, citizen engagement, and anti-scam centres. Proto’s clients include central banks, remittance services, and hospitals protected with the company’s SOC2, ISO27001, and HIPAA security compliance. Proto’s proprietary natural language engine delivers understanding for local and mixed languages across underserved populations – beyond the capabilities of large language models. Headquartered in Canada, Proto operates from regional offices in the Philippines and Rwanda.

View Case Study
linkedin share button
whatsapp share button