Skippet, a Natural Language Processing (NLP) and AI startup just announced the closing of their $2.2m seed round. Led by VC fund Neo, Skippet’s solution allows anyone to create custom digital solutions using plain, everyday language.
Inspired by their startup MyMedBot, an online platform helping schools and businesses to create health and vaccine screening protocols, Skippet was born out of the co-founders’ desire to tailor to a growing need for ‘no-code platforms’.
“Only by working closely with our MyMedBot customers were we able to uncover the huge unmet need for a no-code platform that anyone can use. We saw that our customers were using software that is either extremely complicated and expensive, or relatively simple to use but inflexible,” comment CEO Jacob Arnould and COO Greg Janota.
Covid-19’s increased the digitalisation needs also highlighted how disparities in access to high quality developers and software were holding less affluent businesses and organisation back.
“We understood that to truly democratize software you need to give power to the non-technical user to tailor the programme to their needs. To do so, you need to change how people interact with the computer – from a point-and-click interface to a much more intuitive language-powered interface,” expand Jacob Arnould and Greg Janota.
So how does it work? When writing out your problem in plain English, Skippet will use its knowledge of your existing systems and integrations, along with state-of-the-art language models to create or modify an application or workflow.
“We are extremely happy with the calibre of investors on our cap table who are experienced in Artificial Intelligence and have an amazing network within Silicon Valley.”
Jacob Arnould
Hiring “Rockstar Software Developers”
Founded in 2020 by co-founders Jacob Arnould, Greg Janota and Satchel Spencer (CTO), Skippet’s seed round of $2.2m is reflective of the startups’ potential and perhaps also of the excitement in the Valley surrounding Natural Language Processing (NLP) solutions.
“The seed round highlights the huge potential of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to revolutionize how humans use software. NLP will change how people interact with technology ranging from the individual managing their schedule to the enterprise implementing a complex process with many stakeholders,” comment Jacob Arnould and Greg Janota.
The seed round is led by ‘communal’ VC fund Neo – which is run by Ali Partovi, an early investor in Facebook and Dropbox – and joined by others such as Wedbush Ventures, Studio Management, Gaingels, Assure.
“We will use the $2.2m primarily to hire rockstar software developers and product designers. More than the amount we are also extremely happy with the calibre of investors on our cap table who are experienced in Artificial Intelligence and have an amazing network within Silicon Valley. This is really important, as we are pushing the boundaries of Natural Language Processing and no-code platforms,” says the team behind Skippet.
Before releasing Skippet to the public in mid-2022, the co-founders will first be releasing it to their company’s existing 200 customers – who were taken over from MyMedBot.
