The market for conversational solutions based on AI will grow by 22 per cent on average in the next four years, and a Romanian start-up is well placed to be a part of that growth.
The Bucharest-based start-up DRUID, which specialises in creating chatbots, has secured new funding of two million euros.
Led by the GapMinder investment fund, this latest round puts the total investment into DRUID at about 4.7 million euros since the company launched in 2018. Early Game Ventures and a number of private investors also participated.
“The new round of financing will be used to launch new conversational automations, to further develop artificial intelligence components, and to accelerate international expansion,” says Liviu Drăgan, DRUID’s CEO.
- Emerging Europe Talks Prosperity — smart urban living with Radu Puchiu
- The Lithuanian start-up making synthetic protein design easier
- Despite familiar risks, Romania has a shot at unprecedented stability
With so many organisations becoming more and more digitalised and focused on online customer interactions, there is an acceleration of demand for chatbots and virtual assistants.
Natural language processing
Smart virtual assistants can use natural language processing (NLP) engines to take charge of virtually any document or information in an organisation’s system. DRUID’s platform and technology allows companies to quickly develop these assistants, in turn saving time and money by automating simple yet time-consuming employee activities and improving user experience though fast and smart responses.
With support for over 45 languages, DRUID offers hundreds of conversational templates that serve specific roles and processes within any industry. The chatbots are additionally equipped with over 250 built-in skills that let them fit various industries and roles by performing tasks such as replying to questions, sending notifications, filling out forms, delivering reports, and others.
Despite Covid-19, 2020 was a good year for the Romanian company, as it posted a revenue increase of 580 per cent compared to 2019. According to a study by MarketsandMarkets, the market for conversational solutions based on artificial intelligence will grow by 22 per cent on average in the next four years, reaching 11.4 billion US dollars in 2025.
Ambition
“We are driven to invest in technology companies uniquely positioned to grow exponentially. DRUID’s technology is transformational in its ability to provide true conversational solutions assisted by artificial intelligence,” says Dan Mihaescu, founding parter at GapMinder. “This new technology is inexpensive and versatile, ultimately enabling massive cost savings and growth stimulators for enterprises that intend to accelerate their digital transformation.”
So far, users of DRUID’s chatbot technology include AXA Group, McDonald’s China, Texas Children’s Hospital US, Saint Gobain UK, Griffith University Australia, Servier Germany, NASDAQ Sweden, and Altan Redes Mexico.
“DRUID’s ambition is to become the most important conversational AI provider from Europe and to deliver a virtual assistant for every employee. We are incredibly confident and motivated to amaze the whole world with our technology,” Mr Drăgan concludes.
Unlike many news and information platforms, Emerging Europe is free to read, and always will be. There is no paywall here. We are independent, not affiliated with nor representing any political party or business organisation. We want the very best for emerging Europe, nothing more, nothing less. Your support will help us continue to spread the word about this amazing region.
You can contribute here. Thank you.
Add Comment