Swiss company Beekeeper has completed a multimillion euro deal to acquire Irish voicetech start-up Lua.
Formerly known as Whispr, Lua has developed a real-time interactive voice technology platform that “whispers” guidelines and instructions to frontline employees working across multiple industries.
Built on natural processing language and artificial intelligence, the technology offers an alternative way to help workers carry out tasks, no matter whether they are doing aircraft inspections, hotel room housekeeping or office cleaning.
Its customers include Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, DoubleTree by Hilton and AC Hotels.
The start-up was founded in Dublin 2018 by Dubliner Hugh O'Flanagan and Keith Saft and is now headquartered in Copenhagen.
Details
While no financial details have been revealed, Lua was previously valued at more than $10 million (€8.4 million) based on it having raised $2 million from investors that include Seedcamp and Bose Ventures.
“Joining Beekeeper is an incredible moment for our team. We have spent the last three years building the smartest workflow platform in the market that is designed specifically for frontline teams. It sits at the very core of the work these teams do,” said Mr O’Flanagan, Lua’s chief executive.
Headquartered in Zurich, Beekeeper has developed its own mobile collaboration and chat platform designed specifically for frontline workers. The company has secured about $90 million in funding to date from backers such as Atomico.
