A SaaS chatbot firm has secured a £250,000 investment led by the British Robotics Seed Fund (BRSF).
London-based BotSkill, which has developed unique technology to take the pain out of business bots, will use the funding to develop its SaaS platform and grow its team. BotSkill predicts that by 2020, 80% of businesses will have a chatbot as a communication channel for customers, partners or employees.
The investment is the second in an ongoing series that have been made into UK’s robotics-focussed start-ups by the fund. And Botskill is also raising further investment on the new and complementary robotics crowdfunding platform Britbots CROWD.
A chatbot is a computer programme that mimics human conversation using artificial intelligence. It can be delivered by voice, living in devices such as Alexa or Google Home, or text in messaging apps such as Skype, Facebook Messenger and What’s App.
The company is building a SaaS platform that provides fast no-code chatbot generation for businesses, powered by artificial intelligence. The service enables businesses to tap into an explosive new direct marketing channel, increased customer personalisation and predictive data analytics.
CEO and Co-founder of BotSkill Andy Wilkins said: “We’re thrilled to work with the British Robotics Seed Fund. With the management team’s strong track record, we feel their investment is a real endorsement of our vision. Their team also offers a wealth of experience which we can tap into to help us achieve our ambitious growth plans.”
CEO of Britbots and founder of the British Robotics Seed Fund Dominic Keen added: “We believe that we will be speaking to computers a lot more over the upcoming years, and were impressed by the pragmatic and ambitious plans the Botskill’s team have to becoming a leader in this market place.
“Botskill joins our initial portfolio and demonstrates the innovative British ventures in the dynamic field of artificial intelligence and bots. Investment from the BRSF is just the start for Botskill, and now a wider number of investors can help the company reach its next milestone through the BritbotsCROWD platform, where we look to reach the company’s £350,000 funding target.”
