Time published their best inventions of 2020, a list of 100 technologies that are "changing how we live" in areas like education, finance, design, entertainment, and accessibility. Each contender was evaluated on "originality, creativity, effectiveness, ambition and impact."
Portfolio company Krisp, which removes background noise from phone and web calls, was one of only five technologies chosen in the artificial intelligence category. Timewrote, "As millions adjust to remote work, unwanted background noises—yelling kids, roaring lawn mowers, barking dogs—have become the scourge of online meetings. Think of Krisp as your mute button for all that. The noise-canceling app, which costs $5 a month if you pay annually and is compatible with any videoconferencing software, uses machine learning to differentiate between your voice and background sounds, filtering out unwanted noises so your colleagues only hear you."
Krisp is available for consumers (for free) and for businesses, with enterprises driving much of their growth this year. The company likes to remind privacy-conscious users that all audio is processed locally on the device -- "your voice and audio never leave it."
The Bay Area-based startup recently raised $5M in their series A which it will invest in expanding both team and products.
Electrification • Harbinger