Seattle-based public speaking platform Yoodli is giving the mirror a major upgrade.
Yoodli wants to be the tool people use as they prepare for a big speech, interview or presentation. The startup, which was incubated at the Allen Institute for AI, is launching out of stealth with $1.1 million from both the Allen Institute and Madrona Venture Group, according Yoodli co-founder Varun Puri.
"We've all been in situations the night before a presentation, interview, salary negotiation or whatever, where we are talking out loud to a mirror, a stopwatch, a camera or a spouse. We're pacing back and forth trying to memorize our slides," Puri said. "The dream behind this is can we build technology to help people practice and improve their communication skills without the pressure of an audience."
Yoodli's website offers a variety of games and tools designed to improve public speaking. One game, for example, gives users a prompt, awarding points as they speak but losing points for filler words "um" and "uh."
Another game asks users to talk about a topic while incorporating random, unrelated words, forcing users to think on their toes as they speak. Users can also record speeches and receive feedback on their pacing, use of filler words and volume, among other data.
Puri said the exercises function the same way as stretching for an athlete before a big contest. The speaking games come from renowned public speakers and speech coaches, he added.
Puri founded Yoodli with Esha Joshi, a former Apple engineer, after seeing people get panic attacks before presentations. The company launched last year and still operates out of the Allen Institute for AI. Puri said the company has under 10 employees, all of whom are based in Seattle, and Yoodli will eventually look for office space.
Puri previously worked on special projects for Google, eventually working for the tech giant's "moonshot factory," called X, to help bring internet to sub-Saharan Africa. Joshi, meanwhile, spent more than four years with Apple as a product manager and software engineer.
Yoodli is the latest Allen Institute for AI spinout to receive funding recently. Artificial intelligence startup WhyLabs, for example, raised $10 million in November, while voice technology company WellSaid Labs raised $10 million in July.
According to Puri, Yoodli is pre-revenue right now and will figure out its plan to make money later. As for including a pressure element of people watching to truly replicate public speaking, he said that is on the horizon.
"We want to be this ubiquitous tool anytime you are speaking," Puri said. "What we are working on is a deep-rooted insecurity. For a lot of people they would rather go to the dentist and get a tooth extracted than give a speech."
