A cutting-edge Munich-based startup, Beyond Presence, is ushering in a new era for computer vision applications. By combining advanced smartphone technology with AI capabilities, the company is developing a groundbreaking hyper-realistic avatar technology. This technology aims to create virtual representations that are indistinguishable in appearance and voice from real people, and can be used in real-time conversational scenarios.
Today, Beyond Presence announced the completion of its first external funding round, securing $3.1 million in pre-seed investment. Leading the investment is the renowned German venture capital firm HV Capital, with participation from 10x Founders, Alba VC, and individual investors from Meta, DeepMind, and Zalando. This round not only demonstrates investors' confidence in Beyond Presence's technology but also provides robust support for the company's rapid development.
Although Beyond Presence's technology has not been officially launched, CEO and co-founder Awais Shafique told TechCrunch that they are close to achieving their final goal. The newly acquired funds will be used to continue developing the company's foundational models and support the release of the public beta later this month.
Currently, about 300 companies are waiting to trial Beyond Presence's products. This technology could initially be applied in customer service and support, recruitment, sales, and online education. In these areas, businesses are looking to expand their interaction with users without increasing labor costs.
Beyond Presence's successful fundraising is backed by its experienced founding team. Shafique previously co-founded Presize, a computer vision startup that developed a technology allowing users to accurately measure their size by rotating in front of a smartphone camera, used for online clothing purchases. Presize participated in the German version of "Dragons' Den" in 2020, securing a record €650,000 investment and garnering significant attention.
In April 2022, Meta acquired Presize. Although the specific transaction amount and date were not disclosed, indications suggest it was a substantial exit. According to information obtained by TechCrunch, the deal could be in the lower range of nine-figure dollars. Regardless, considering Presize had only raised "a few million dollars" previously, this exit was a significant gain for Shafique and his co-founders.
Beyond Presence's core goal is to solve a complex computer vision problem. Unlike other digital avatar companies, Beyond Presence is dedicated to creating avatars that can be used in real-time, look exactly like you, and can be applied in unscripted conversational scenarios. This is akin to a video version of text chatbots.
Currently, Beyond Presence is focusing on developing the video components of its product. The audio aspect is supported by Eleven Labs, while content generation utilizes OpenAI's GPT model. Enterprise customers have the flexibility to choose which model to use or opt for their own language models or voice agents.
It is worth noting that Beyond Presence was initially accepted by Y Combinator but ultimately chose to forgo this prestigious incubator opportunity. Shafique and co-founder Felix Altenberger (CTO, former deep learning expert at Presize) preferred to maintain the company's autonomy and equity, focusing on core technology and foundational model development.
Beyond Presence's innovative concept and strong technical background have earned it a place in the competitive AI vision field. With the upcoming release of the public beta, we can look forward to how this technology will change the way people interact with the digital world. The successful application of hyper-realistic avatar technology could bring revolutionary changes to remote work, online education, virtual reality, and more.
