Aflorithmic Secures $1.3 Million Seed Funding to Advance Audio-as-a-Service Platform

Aflorithmic, a London and Barcelona-based audio-as-a-service SaaS startup, has successfully raised $1.3 million in seed funding. The investment comes from Crowd Media Holdings, an Australian company specializing in influencer-driven ‘social commerce’ and marketing initiatives.

Investment Details and Strategic Alignment

Crowd Media Holdings is acquiring a 10% stake in Aflorithmic. This strategic investment is intended to facilitate the offering of FaceTime interactions with celebrities, leveraging Aflorithmic’s advanced voice cloning technology.

Aflorithmic’s Core Technology and Platform

Founded two years ago, Aflorithmic has developed a platform focused on automated and scalable audio production. The company utilizes AI-driven synthetic media, ethical voice cloning, and audio mastering techniques.

Key Features and Capabilities

• Fully automated audio production
• Scalable solutions for diverse applications
• AI-powered synthetic media generation
• Ethical voice cloning capabilities
• Audio mastering for professional-quality results

The platform delivers audio content through various channels, including websites, mobile applications, and smart speakers, via its robust APIs. Its slogan, “Text in beautiful audio out,” succinctly captures its core function.

Prior to this seed round, Aflorithmic had already secured over $887,000 in external funding, including an oversubscribed pre-seed/FFF/angel round, following an initial period of bootstrapping for ten months.

Current Applications and Business Thesis

Aflorithmic’s technology is currently being piloted in several proof-of-concept projects. These include the creation of audiobooks for children, personalized narration for wellness and nutrition programs, and a robot butler concierge service for hotel guests.

The company’s central belief is that the demand for audio content significantly exceeds the capacity of traditional, studio-produced voiceovers. Therefore, synthesized media is essential to bridge this gap, providing infinite, personalized voice track variations for each customer.

Currently, Aflorithmic is collaborating on approximately ten projects with early beta customers in the edtech, martech, and health & fitness sectors.

The continued growth in popularity of podcasts and live-voice streaming further underscores the enduring appeal of audio content in an increasingly video-centric landscape.

Crowd Media’s Vision for Immersive Experiences

Crowd Media Holdings envisions a more ambitious application of Aflorithmic’s technology. They aim to “completely reshape” consumer engagement in ecommerce through immersive experiences.

Blending Voice and Video for Celebrity Interactions

The investment in Aflorithmic is driven by a plan to combine synthesized voice with video, enabling fans to participate in “immersive” video chats with simulated versions of their favorite celebrities. This partnership is intended to mitigate the risks associated with this innovative project.

According to Crowd Media, Aflorithmic’s technology will replicate a celebrity’s accent, tone, and mannerisms, creating a realistic conversational experience. The content of these interactions will be powered by an AI-driven chatbot, drawing from a knowledge base of over 180 million user-submitted questions.

The video component of this project will utilize 3D imaging technology provided by Forever Holdings, Zoe01, and Uneeq, three other synthetic media companies.

Integration with Crowd Media’s Social Commerce Applications

Crowd Media plans to integrate Aflorithmic’s technology into its existing social commerce applications, including its AI-driven chatbot (CM8). This integration will enhance customer service capabilities across various sectors, such as marketing, education, and healthcare.

Future Development and Funding Allocation

Aflorithmic intends to use the new funding to support research and development efforts focused on its API audio-production engine, voice cloning capabilities, and talent acquisition.

The company offers its API-based audio-as-a-service to a diverse customer base, with use cases including hyper-personalized newsletters, podcasts, and voice cloning for marketing purposes.

Aflorithmic also provides access to a “vast” voice library, allowing customers to select a robotic speaker. Alternatively, users can record their own voice to create personalized audio content through the company’s voice cloning AI.

“Users can compose professional-quality pieces including music and complex audio engineering, then deliver the final product to any device or platform,” the company states.

Leadership Perspectives and Business Model

Timo Kunz, co-founder and CEO of Aflorithmic, expressed excitement about learning from Crowd Media’s experience in reaching mass markets and collaborating on the future of social commerce.

“We believe audio creation as we know it is making way for automated, scalable, dynamic audio experiences — and companies like ours are at the forefront,” Kunz stated.

He further emphasized the immense potential of synthetic audio production, particularly within marketing applications, envisioning scenarios such as Kim Kardashian serving as a personal shopper for her 200 million followers or Lewis Hamilton providing personalized recommendations for Pirelli tires.

Aflorithmic operates on a SaaS model similar to Twilio or Messagebird, with a baseline monthly subscription based on audio track usage. Voice cloning is offered at a fixed price, and a free tier is also available. Custom pricing is negotiated for larger collaborations involving significant R&D efforts.

Ethical Considerations and Competitive Landscape

Aflorithmic’s claim of “ethical” voice cloning acknowledges the inherent challenges associated with commercial tools for synthesized media production. Potential risks include misuse for phishing scams, identity theft, emotional manipulation, and blackmail, as well as copyright concerns.

The company’s ethics section on its website emphasizes its commitment to responsible AI development, adhering to the UK and European Union’s Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. All work and voice models are trained with the full compliance and approval of the individual data owner.

To prevent misuse, Aflorithmic requires written consent from original speakers for voice cloning and closely monitors usage, particularly during initial stages. Access to the API infrastructure is restricted to vetted, paying customers.

The company differentiates itself from competitors like Descript, which acquired Lyrebird in 2019, by focusing specifically on automating the entire audio production process, rather than offering a broader suite of video and audio tools.

“Descript is positioning itself more as a creator tool…However, they don’t cover the full production process…We think automating this process is a big deal,” Kunz explained.

“While Descript focuses on a sort of ‘studio’…to make editing easy, we see ourselves more as a ‘Stripe for Audio’ making it very easy for companies to integrate Audio-As-A-Service into their products.”

Aflorithmic’s co-founders, in addition to Timo Kunz, are Peadar Coyle and Björn Ühss.

This report was updated with additional comment from Alforithmic