Deepbrain AI (previously Moneybrain), a conversational AI startup based mostly in Seoul, South Korea, has raised $44 million in a sequence B spherical led by Korea Improvement Financial institution at a post-money valuation of $180 million. The capital will likely be used to broaden the corporate’s buyer base and operations globally, CEO Eric Jang stated in a press release, with a specific emphasis on the U.S.

Deepbrain gives a variety of AI-powered customer support merchandise, however its focus is on “artificial people,” or human-like avatars that reply to pure language questions. As a result of the pandemic makes on-line meetups a daily prevalence, the idea of “virtual folks” is gaining steam. Startups together with Soul Machines, Brud, Wave, Samsung-backed STAR Labs, the AI Basis, and Deepbrain purpose to will a form of “metaverse” into existence by pursuing AI strategies that may mimic the expertise of talking with a human being (for instance, a help agent).

Based in 2016, Deepbrain presents video and speech synthesis and chatbot options to enterprise clients together with MBN, Metro Information, and LG HelloVision in addition to KB Kookmin Financial institution and training service supplier Kyowon. Utilizing a mix of AI applied sciences, Deepbrain creates what it calls “AI people,” or avatars that may reply to questions in an individual’s voice.

To create an “AI human,” Deepbrain captures video of a human mannequin in a studio and trains a machine studying system. The mannequin is given a script to learn, enabling the system to generate an avatar of the mannequin with synchronized, true-to-life lip, mouth, and head actions.

AI-powered avatars

Jang factors out that Deepbrain’s expertise can enhance virtual experiences whereas minimizing the necessity for pricey video manufacturing. For instance, the corporate is working with an training supplier to construct “AI human” tutors that can give lectures and reply college students’ questions.  Individually, Deepbrain says it’s collaborating with a monetary group to create “AI bankers” that may direct clients to the best human financial institution personnel, probably decreasing workers’ workloads.

“[Our investors] perceive the chance we’ve got to boost the shopper expertise and lead the rising contactless trade introduced on by the pandemic,” Jang stated in a press launch. “This new funding is validation of our expertise, robust enterprise alternative, and buyer traction in key buyer service-driven industries.”

Above: Deepbrain’s dashboard.

Picture Credit score: Deepbrain

Some specialists have expressed concern that instruments like these may very well be used to create deepfakes, or AI-generated movies that take an individual in an current video and exchange them with another person’s likeness. The worry is that these fakes is likely to be used to do issues like sway opinion throughout an election or implicate an individual in against the law. Deepfakes have already been abused to generate pornographic materials of actors and defraud a serious vitality producer.

Deepbrain doesn’t clarify what protections it has in place to stop abuse.  We’ve reached out to the corporate for remark.

Past Korea Improvement Financial institution, Deepbrain counts as traders IDG Capital China, CH & Companions, Donghun Funding, L&S Enterprise Capital, and Posco Tech Funding. The sequence B brings the corporate’s whole raised to $52 million so far.