Conversation artificial intelligence startup NLX Inc. revealed today that it has raised $5 million in funding to scale up its offering.

Aquila Capital Partners led the seed round, along with Flying Fish Partners, Sage Venture Partners and JetBlue Technology Ventures.

Founded in 2018, NLX says it offers automated and frictionless multimodal self-service tools powered by conversational AI. The company’s service is designed to allow organizations to build and manage what it calls next-generation conversational experiences — personalized conversations that are automated, integrated, highly scalable and available anytime and anywhere.

The problem NLX is seeking to address is issues with customer service. The company argues that hold times and staffing challenges continuously plague the customer support industry, resulting in diminished customer satisfaction, brand loyalty and ultimately a hit to the bottom line. The COVID-19 pandemic has only compounded these challenges.

NLX says that these issues create a clear need: Businesses needed a better way to address customer inquiries efficiently and effectively, whenever and however, without hiring more staff. That’s where NLX steps in.

Automated bots that respond to customers are not exactly new, but where NLX differs is that its technology can interact with customers both online and over the phone. In the company’s words, its technology allows clients to offer a “white-glove service” to all their customers, no matter if they reach out on the phone, online or using voice assistant technology such as Alexa.

Companies using NLX’s tools can automate 60% to 70% of all incoming inquires, reducing strain on support staff so they can focus on solving more challenging questions that go beyond AI’s current capability, according to the company. NLX’s 24/7 product suite solution also enables businesses to answer customer inquiries at any time of the day and avoid putting customers on hold.

NLX customers include Compañía Panameña de Aviación S.A, Red Bull GmnH, Tactacam and Webvork Llp.

“With their platform, SMBs and enterprises alike can automate complex customer support tasks with state-of-the-art AI and help increase customer delight while driving down costs,” Frank Chang, co-founder and managing partner at Flying Fish Partners, said in a statement.

Image: NLX