PALO ALTO, Calif. & TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. and Audioburst announced today a joint partnership for supporting and building new future voice technology products relying on Audioburst’s AI-based voice search platform, especially for the Japanese market. As part of the expanded partnership, Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. has also invested $3M USD as part of Audioburst’s latest funding round led by Samsung Ventures, bringing the round’s total funding to $14.4M USD.
Audioburst is a voice search platform that harnesses the power of AI and NLP (Natural Language Processing) to listen, understand, segment and index millions of minutes of daily talk content from thousands of top audio sources including radio, podcasts, and TV. Audioburst enables the delivery of news and infotainment in a personalized, original voice and screen-free way to consumers and businesses through partnerships with creators, media platforms and consumer brands including Samsung, Harman, and Bose.
“We are proud to partner with Audioburst and feel that there are countless possibilities using its audio search technology to enable users to discover the appeal not just of radio, but all forms of audio content, in ways they could not previously,” said Masayuki Iwasaki, CEO. “We believe in harnessing the power of Audioburst’s technology to deliver the ultimate listening experience in new, personalized ways.”
“We are excited to partner with the biggest Japanese broadcasting network as part of our global mission to organize the world’s audio content. We chose Japan as our first destination outside of the US, thanks to the great opportunity to collaborate with local automotive and consumer electronics partners,” said Amir Hirsh, Founder and CEO, Audioburst. “This is just the beginning of our international expansion to provide an innovative on-demand listening experience to consumers around the world, where they can get the most relevant content on every device.”
About Audioburst:
Audioburst is a revolutionary AI-powered voice search platform that connects listeners to audio content. With the mission of organizing the world's audio content, every day, the Audioburst AI platform listens to, understands, segments and indexes millions of minutes of audio content from top radio stations and podcasts. Powered by advanced NLP technology and a proprietary AI platform that indexes audio segments into searchable “bursts” in real-time, Audioburst is introducing an entirely new way for consumers and businesses to interact with live or recorded audio content across platforms and devices. The Audioburst experience is already available on several interfaces such as Audioburst Search, a new web and mobile-optimized search engine for finding, discovering, consuming and sharing audio news. Additionally, developers can access the Audioburst API to tap into the robust Audioburst Content Library and introduce a more dynamic and personalized listening experience for users across in-car infotainment systems, voice assistants, IoT gadgets, and smartphones.
About Nippon Broadcasting System, Inc.:
Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. is the one of biggest commercial radio stations in Japan and is well-known for its call sign, JOLF. In addition, it plays a central role in the radio network called NRN (National Radio Network) across the nation. Since its establishment in 1954, the company has produced a massive array of Japanese-language programs including entertainment, sports, culture and news, headlined by “All Night Nippon”, one of the most popular and longest-running radio talk shows in Japan which has been broadcast for the past 50 years. Recently, Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. has placed a strong emphasis on the “articleizing (or textualizing)” of its radio programs through its web media like 1242.com and allnightnippon.com for attracting more non-radio listeners. The company has also been proactively increasing its collaboration with and investment in companies around the world which have unique ideas or competitive technology, expanding its business interest year after year, going beyond the limited radio industry to appeal to future listeners.
