A Japanese VC firm led the raise, which attracted three other US-based VCs
MinterEllisonRuddWatts has helped Auckland AI startup Soul Machines to raise US$70m – an investment that will enable the company to strengthen its work on humanised AI.
Japanese venture capital firm Softbank led the Series B round. It was joined by US venture capital firms Solasta Ventures, Liberty City Ventures and Cleveland Avenue.
“This is a great outcome for Soul Machines. We are extremely proud to be working with such a cutting-edge company as it leads the way with revolutionary humanised AI platforms in an increasingly digital world,” MinterEllisonRuddWatts lead partner Mark Forman said.
Founded by Mark Sagar (formerly of Weta Digital) and Greg Cross in 2016, Soul Machines has built a reputation as a creator of interactive “virtual humans” for consumer brands. The company was behind the AI identities “Sophie” (Air NZ), “Jamie” (ANZ) and “Sarah” (Mercedes-Benz).
The company intends to use the capital to bolster its research teams in Auckland and Arizona, which are furthering the company’s efforts to mimic human intelligence.
“Soul Machines is truly bringing life to the metaverse with its astonishing humanised AI platform that has the power to enable a digital workforce to be deployed throughout the digital world,” Liberty City Ventures managing partner Murtaza Akbar said in a statement.
MinterEllisonRuddWatts partner Tom Maasland and senior associate James Marrier were among the members of Forman’s team that worked on this transaction.
