US-based retail technology developer Ojo Labs has raised $20.5m in a series B round that include residential services provider ServiceMaster and relocation services firm Realogy.
Financial services firm Royal Bank of Canada and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, the venture capital branch of financial services provider Northwestern Mutual, also contributed to the round, as did VC firms LiveOak Venture Partners and Silverton Partners.
Founded in 2015, Ojo is developing an artificial intelligence-based system that will utilise natural language understanding and personalisation technology be able to hold conversations with many potential customers at the same time.
The company closed a $5.9m series A round in January 2016, according to a securities filing that indicated LiveOak and Silverton were among the participants. It will use the series B proceeds to recruit product, data science and engineering staff.