Jeff Weiner, executive chairman of LinkedIn, funds the startup company Loris.AI as part of a $5.1 million seed round led by the US arm of Vertex Ventures.
Loris has built an AI-based system that helps customer service agents have effective and efficient communication with customers, as an alternative to bots that often cause frustration because of their lack of ability to give a precise, empathetic response in complex cases. The algorithm analyzes the conversation and the customer’s emotional state, and presents dynamic recommendations about the optimal way to respond in a way that fits the situation and presents a consistent brand voice. Loris also analyzes all conversations and generates robust insights for management regarding the agents’ performance and the customers’ satisfaction.
In recent years, companies have seen growing demand for digital synchronous communication from customers, instead of phone calls and emails. The standard solution using chatbots often angers customers who find that they have been wasting their time talking to a robot that doesn’t understand their questions and their needs. Loris’ technology allows human agents to give a fast, efficient response that shortens the conversations and to deliver a great experience for the customer.
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Loris’ origins come from Crisis Text Line, a global non-profit organization that provides crisis support 24/7 via written text communication. Throughout the years, the organization amassed significant experience navigating difficult and emotional conversations via text. The techniques developed by the organization for an effective response have been adapted by Loris for the customer service needs of businesses.
“The entire Loris team is very excited to bring our innovative chat solution to market” said Etie Hertz, Chief Executive Officer at Loris. “Our real-time coaching software is a game changer for customer care teams as it enables them to increase efficiency and the quality of conversations simultaneously, ultimately improving customer satisfaction and lifetime value.”
Loris has an office in New York and an R&D center in Israel led by Ron Schwartz, VP Engineering. Among its clients are Lyft, Freshly, and Slice. Since its creation in 2018, Loris has received $7.1M in funding, including the current round. Other investors include Floodgate, Homebrew, and Kapor Capital. The new round will allow growing the company, putting the emphasis on R&D, marketing, and sales.
