Amazon and Google see something they like in this health care startup
While they don't agree on much, these two tech giants do agree on Aiva.
The Amazon Echo Dot.
Aiva, a small health care startup in Los Angeles, snagged investments from two rival tech giants in just one week.
The company on Monday announced an investment from the Google Assistant Investment Program. Then, on Thursday, it was part of a new round of investments from Amazon's Alexa Fund. Amazon and Google are investing in startups using these funds so they can build up their rival voice assistant ecosystems.
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Aiva provides provide patients and seniors with smart speakers including Google Home and Amazon Echo to stay in closer contact with their care providers, while also offering them entertainment and education. The startup is piloting its voice-based operating system at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. An Aiva representative declined to comment on the double investment from the two tech rivals.
Google Assistant and Alexa, two of the top digital assistants, are in a heated battle to gain the upper hand against in the new world of voice computing. That's why it's a little surprising that both Amazon and Google would opt to invest in the same startup at nearly the same time.
The investments are likely a clear sign that both tech heavyweights see big opportunities for voice assistants to help patients in hospitals, seniors and others with mobility challenges.
The amount of money Google and Amazon invested in Aiva wasn't disclosed. Aiva previously raised $100,000 in a funding round last year, according to Crunchbase.
Amazon also announced Thursday its Alexa Fund invested in Bamboo Learning, which focuses on interactive teaching with the help of voice-based software, and Endel, which makes "sound environments" like Relax Mode and Focus Mode.
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