Disruptel Secures $1.1M Funding for Smart TV Innovation

Disruptel Secures $1.1 Million in Seed Funding

Disruptel, a voice assistant company headquartered in St. Louis, has announced the successful completion of a $1.1 million seed funding round.

The investment was provided by a group of investors demonstrably aligned with the startup’s core objective: the development of a voice assistant capable of delivering comprehensive details regarding on-screen television content.

Investor Details

Key investors participating in this round include PJC and Progress Ventures, who jointly led the funding. Additional support comes from Mike Baker, co-founder and former CEO of DataXu, Adam Cheyer, a co-founder of Siri, Andrew Olson, an executive at Sky, and Bill Simmons, also a DataXu co-founder.

From Gesture Control to Real-Time Content Understanding

According to Disruptel CEO Alex Quinn, the initial concept for the company originated during his high school years. The original focus was on TV gesture controls, but a shift occurred when he recognized a significant opportunity stemming from the fact that “smart TVs lack inherent awareness of the content being displayed.”

Consequently, Disruptel has engineered a technology possessing “a contextual understanding of all screen activity – encompassing every product and relevant data point.” This allows users to, for instance, inquire about a character’s identity directly through their TV: “Who is the individual wearing the brown shirt?”

Differentiating from Existing Solutions

Quinn’s explanation draws parallels to Amazon’s X-Ray feature, which provides information on actors and supplementary trivia during Amazon Prime video playback.

However, he emphasizes that Amazon’s and Google’s comparable solutions rely on “pre-processed, static data.” In contrast, Disruptel operates “entirely in real time,” theoretically enabling compatibility with any video content.

Context: Disruptel’s Flagship Voice Assistant

Disruptel’s primary product, Context, is a voice assistant specifically designed for integration with smart TVs and their remote controls.

Quinn anticipates establishing partnerships with smart TV manufacturers and streaming services to make Context available to viewers later this year.

Current Availability & Testing

Currently, a Google Chrome extension, Smart Screen, is available for testing and demonstration purposes. This extension successfully identified actors during various scenes of “The Flash” during testing.

The company is utilizing the extension to gather user engagement data and refine the product.

Investor Perspective

Mike Baker, whose adtech firm DataXu was acquired by Roku in 2019, stated that a product demonstration convinced him to invest.

He highlighted “the power and fluidity of the experience” as key factors in his decision.

Baker also suggested that Disruptel’s technology could revolutionize smart TV advertising, currently characterized by what he termed “low-quality” experiences, while acknowledging Hulu’s success with “non-intrusive advertising.”

Technological Development

Quinn, now 21, explained that the development process involved extensive research and learning.

“Our team is deeply focused on machine learning, with our engineers consistently studying research papers to identify optimal solutions,” he stated.

He further noted that pursuing a pre-processing approach, similar to larger companies, would have precluded the project’s initiation.

Early Stage Event Announcement

Early Stage is a leading event providing practical guidance for startup entrepreneurs and investors.

Attendees will gain insights from successful founders and venture capitalists regarding business building, fundraising, and portfolio management.

• Sessions cover fundraising, recruitment, sales, product-market fit, PR, marketing, and brand building.
• Each session includes dedicated time for audience questions and discussion.

Use code “TCARTICLE” at checkout to receive a 20 percent discount on tickets here.