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Coval evaluates AI voice and chat agents like self-driving cars | TechCrunch

Jan 23, 2025 - techcrunch.com
Brooke Hopkins, a former tech lead at Waymo, has launched Coval, a startup that evaluates AI voice and chat agents using simulation techniques similar to those she developed for self-driving cars. Coval's platform can run thousands of simulations to test agents on tasks like making restaurant reservations or handling customer service inquiries. The technology allows companies to customize evaluation metrics and monitor agent performance, addressing a major concern for enterprises hesitant to adopt AI agents due to uncertainty about their effectiveness. Coval's approach aims to provide transparency and confidence in AI agent performance, helping companies demonstrate their capabilities to end-customers.

Coval, which emerged from the Y Combinator Summer 2024 batch, has announced a $3.3 million seed funding round led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and General Catalyst. The funding will be used to expand the engineering team and achieve product-market fit, with plans to extend evaluations to other types of AI agents in the future. The startup enters a rapidly growing market for AI agents, with significant interest and investment in the sector. Hopkins believes Coval's experience and head start in the field will help it stand out amid increasing competition.

Key takeaways:

  • Brooke Hopkins, a former tech lead at Waymo, founded Coval to evaluate AI voice and chat agents using simulation techniques similar to those used for self-driving cars.
  • Coval's platform allows companies to run thousands of simulations to test AI agents, providing customizable metrics and insights for performance evaluation.
  • The startup has raised a $3.3 million seed round led by MaC Venture Capital and plans to expand its engineering team and achieve product-market fit.
  • Coval aims to stand out in the growing AI agent market by leveraging Hopkins' extensive experience and learnings from building similar systems in the past.
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