Amazon Alexa Fund

WattBuy is a technology company focused on providing households with access to cleaner and more affordable electricity. Headquartered in New York City, Washington D.C., and Seattle, the company comprises a team of product leaders and engineers with backgrounds from major tech firms. WattBuy has developed an electricity management platform that allows users to take control of their electricity consumption. Through a personalized recommendation engine, the platform helps residents select electricity plans tailored to their preferences and usage patterns, enabling them to save money and switch to the most cost-effective suppliers in their regions. The company's mission centers on leveraging technology to address energy inequality and contribute positively to climate change.

Bamboo Learning is an education-focused software and services company that operates a voice-powered learning platform for math practice and broader subjects. The platform presents exercises, visuals, and interactive content via voice-first devices, with Alexa skills such as Bamboo Math and Bamboo Music that increase in difficulty as users master material. Serving children, families, teens, and adults, the company aims to guide lifelong learning by providing engaging, on-demand learning experiences across subjects. The solution combines audio, imagery, and adaptive challenges to support self-paced practice and skill development in an accessible, family-friendly format.

Spiral Technologies Inc. is a software company based in Seattle, Washington, founded in 2018. The company specializes in developing an artificial intelligence-driven platform that analyzes omnichannel customer feedback. This platform scans various voice and text channels to detect emerging issues and trends, allowing businesses to address problems proactively. By converting customer feedback into actionable insights, Spiral supports organizations in enhancing their customer-centric processes and improving overall satisfaction. The solution integrates seamlessly with customer relationship management systems, facilitating real-time tracking and enabling companies to effectively manage and respond to customer concerns.

Anycart is a meal discovery and grocery shopping platform that simplifies the cooking process for users by integrating meal planning with grocery shopping. The application allows users to search for meals they wish to prepare, provides relevant recipes, and adds the necessary ingredients to their preferred grocery delivery service. It further enhances the cooking experience by offering step-by-step video instructions for each recipe. Founded in 2019 during the Amazon Alexa Accelerator and now based in Palo Alto, California, Anycart aims to make meal planning accessible and affordable, helping users efficiently utilize their grocery purchases by suggesting additional recipes that can use leftover ingredients.

Jargon Inc. is a Seattle-based company that specializes in software development for engineers and developers focused on voice content management. Established in 2017, Jargon's low-code platform allows users to create and manage chat and voice applications effectively. By integrating an integrated development environment (IDE) with content management system (CMS) capabilities, the company enhances the customization of voice applications, enabling tailored user interactions and facilitating localization across multiple languages. Jargon's solutions empower enterprise teams to streamline app production and minimize errors, thereby improving the overall efficiency of application development.

Bamboo Learning is an education-focused software and services company that operates a voice-powered learning platform for math practice and broader subjects. The platform presents exercises, visuals, and interactive content via voice-first devices, with Alexa skills such as Bamboo Math and Bamboo Music that increase in difficulty as users master material. Serving children, families, teens, and adults, the company aims to guide lifelong learning by providing engaging, on-demand learning experiences across subjects. The solution combines audio, imagery, and adaptive challenges to support self-paced practice and skill development in an accessible, family-friendly format.

Jargon Inc. is a Seattle-based company that specializes in software development for engineers and developers focused on voice content management. Established in 2017, Jargon's low-code platform allows users to create and manage chat and voice applications effectively. By integrating an integrated development environment (IDE) with content management system (CMS) capabilities, the company enhances the customization of voice applications, enabling tailored user interactions and facilitating localization across multiple languages. Jargon's solutions empower enterprise teams to streamline app production and minimize errors, thereby improving the overall efficiency of application development.

Novel Effect is a Seattle-based company specializing in voice-driven media and entertainment. It has developed an interactive storytelling application that utilizes voice recognition technology to synchronize theme music and sound effects with the reading experience. This innovative application provides voice-activated audio enhancements for children's books, allowing sound effects and music to play in real-time as a child reads. By blending the physical and digital worlds, Novel Effect creates immersive and engaging experiences that foster learning and interaction between children and parents, while ensuring that the content remains accessible and non-distracting.

Pulse Labs is a Seattle-based company that specializes in user testing for voice applications within the voice ecosystem, including platforms like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Founded in 2017, Pulse Labs offers a comprehensive platform that enables developers and designers to conduct rigorous testing of their voice applications with real users from diverse demographics. By capturing real-time interactions and analyzing user behavior, the company provides valuable insights that help businesses enhance user experience and satisfaction. Pulse Labs has positioned itself as a premier solution for obtaining user feedback, facilitating informed product development in the rapidly evolving voice application market. The company was also selected as one of the nine startups in the inaugural Alexa Accelerator, which is supported by Amazon's Alexa Fund and Techstars Seattle.

Pulse Labs is a Seattle-based company that specializes in user testing for voice applications within the voice ecosystem, including platforms like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Founded in 2017, Pulse Labs offers a comprehensive platform that enables developers and designers to conduct rigorous testing of their voice applications with real users from diverse demographics. By capturing real-time interactions and analyzing user behavior, the company provides valuable insights that help businesses enhance user experience and satisfaction. Pulse Labs has positioned itself as a premier solution for obtaining user feedback, facilitating informed product development in the rapidly evolving voice application market. The company was also selected as one of the nine startups in the inaugural Alexa Accelerator, which is supported by Amazon's Alexa Fund and Techstars Seattle.

Kitt.ai is a technology company based in Seattle, Washington, specializing in natural language understanding technologies. The company develops solutions that enable conversational understanding, focusing on multi-turn dialogue and offering a range of applications such as enterprise intelligence and home automation. Kitt.ai's product portfolio includes Parsetron, which parses natural language commands into executable API calls; Semantic Lighting, for controlling smart lighting systems; Answertron, a technology for answering factual questions to enhance web and knowledge base searches; and Snowboy, a real-time hot word detection system. These technologies facilitate the integration of natural language processing capabilities into various hardware and software platforms, making it easier for developers to implement advanced speech and language functionalities. As of 2017, Kitt.ai operates as a subsidiary of Baidu, Inc.

Zoobean, Inc. is a company that specializes in enhancing children's literacy through its online services. Founded in 2012 and based in Washington, D.C., Zoobean offers a platform that recommends and curates applications, books, and literacy resources tailored to each child's age, interests, and reading level. Its primary product, Beanstack, enables public libraries and schools to engage families effectively, providing personalized recommendations and tools for earning incentives via custom reading challenges. Additionally, Zoobean features a book of the month delivery service, which includes curated selections and digital reading guides to support families' reading endeavors. The company's mission is to improve children's literacy by facilitating personalized learning and encouraging year-round reading.