Conveo has raised $50 million to utilize multimodal artificial intelligence in conducting interactive video interviews that are capable of actively listening to people. This solution aims to overcome the limitations of traditional market research, which is often expensive, slow, and based on rigid, pre-written survey scripts.
Existing polling methods do not allow for asking natural follow-up questions when a user expresses an unexpectedly interesting thought, causing valuable insights to be lost. Conveo's artificial intelligence mimics the approach of an experienced researcher who delves deeper into a topic upon mentioning an unusual problem, rather than blindly following a list of dull questions.
The AI system dynamically adapts: upon detecting the slightest lead from the consumer, the AI instantly switches and asks a very specific, individually tailored follow-up question. The company reports that more than half of the most valuable insights come precisely from these dynamic, unscripted follow-ups, providing the depth of a human interview with the speed of a machine.
Conveo recently launched the StoryLines feature, which allows brands to conduct continuous research on their core questions without needing to launch new projects. For example, Canva is already using this feature to test advertising concepts in different countries before spending millions on actual campaigns.
The AI-based research market is becoming extremely saturated, as competitors are actively attracting significant funds; for instance, Listen Labs received $100 million, and Remesh secured over $50 million. To stand out, Conveo has focused on creating a continuous data layer rather than one-off projects. Furthermore, the company initially developed its system in compliance with GDPR requirements for hosting, which is a major advantage for cautious corporate clients in Europe.
The founders, Dieter De Mesmaker and Hendrik Van Hove, joined forces after De Mesmaker spent a decade building DataCamp into a powerful educational technology company. Their experience allows them to scale an infrastructure that currently supports research for over fifty companies on the Fortune 500 list.
Brands need not just a single snapshot of the market, but a living pulse. Consumer opinions can change overnight, so relying on a six-month-old survey means acting blindly. This core philosophy was the driving force behind the Series A round, led by Balderton Capital.
By creating a constantly active data layer, any employee of the organization can interact with their consumer insight database. A user can ask the panel: 'How do our users feel about the new pricing policy?' and receive an instant answer. Moreover, every data point is directly linked to the original video material, allowing one to see exactly how the client said it while maintaining high data quality.
Speed is paramount today; understanding customers faster than competitors automatically provides an advantage. Artificial intelligence bridges the gap between rich qualitative depth and large-scale quantitative analysis, offering product and marketing managers the 'holy grail'—rich, honest customer feedback analyzed in real time.
