Will.i.am’s Startup Gets $177M To Develop Voice Assistant
Black Eyed Peas frontman-turned-businessman will.i.am has gotta feeling music isn’t his forte anymore. But his efforts at entrepreneurship are turning out to be just as successful as his music career. Will.i.am launched his stethoscope-like earphones back in 2016 as a part of his fashion-meets-tech venture, i.am+, and apparently people liked them. According to Reuters, i.am+ has raised $117 million in funding and is onto its next product, a customer service voice assistant called “Omega,” marking the company’s switch from consumer electronics to enterprise technology. T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG, has reportedly been using Omega since July. I.am+ plans to follow Omega with a series of other enterprise voice assistant products. Will.i.am, truly getting it started in here!