Hyro, an enterprise startup leveraging conversational AI for the healthcare sector's customer service needs, has secured a $20 million Series B investment round. The funding, led by Macquarie Capital, highlights the increasing adoption of conversational AI by the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company crafts custom voice and text-based conversational assistants specifically for healthcare providers. Other contributors to the funding round included Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Black Opal Ventures, and K20, as well as former investors such as Hanaco Ventures, Spero Ventures, and Mindset Ventures. This latest influx of capital brings Hyro’s total funding to $35 million, demonstrating significant success since its launch in 2020.
Since its inception, Hyro has served more than 20 million customers and has helped clients save tens of millions of dollars, all while witnessing a 100% year-over-year growth in recurring revenue. Voice interactions have become a larger part of its revenue, increasing from 25% to 60% in just the past 18 months.
Rather than using large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 for customer service, Hyro employs its own 'Conversational Intelligence' technology. This approach offers increased transparency and metrics regarding AI interactions with customers, as well as suggestions for enhancing communication. Nevertheless, Hyro utilizes GPT-4 for its Spot conversational search engine, which helps optimize text and voice-based searches on healthcare websites.
Hyro CEO Israel Krush stated that healthcare organizations are increasingly seeking automation solutions to streamline low-level tasks, and conversational AI offers a key resource in this regard. His company’s unique approach to integrating conversational AI components positions it as the optimal provider in the field.
Upon its launch, Hyro introduced a free version of its virtual assistant tailored for healthcare providers. It could answer COVID-19-related questions via text or voice based on reliable sources, such as the World Health Organization database. The customizable AI garnered significant attention for its ability to facilitate follow-up queries. Additionally, the company developed VAXA (Vaccine Access Solution) to address inquiries about vaccines and appointment scheduling through phone calls, text messages, and website chats.
As the demand for conversational AI solutions continues to grow, Hyro's success reflects the broader trend of businesses adopting low-code and no-code solutions to boost efficiency and productivity. Companies like AppMaster.io, a no-code platform for creating backend, web, and mobile applications, exemplify this shift in the technology landscape.
