This startup will be able to tell you if Donald Trump is lying

Photo credit: Beyond Verbal

It’s the classic existential crisis. There’s no way of figuring out whether people respond to us in the manner we perceive them to. Sure we’ve been taught about non-verbal communication, but what is the person on the other end actually thinking?

Turns out human beings are pretty bad at determining emotions. A study indicates that as many as half of the people we consider to be friends don’t actually feel the same way. We blind ourselves to the possibility of non-reciprocal relationships as a form of emotional self-defense.

It’s helping us understand better what makes us truly happy.

But wouldn’t it be neat if emotions could be decoded? If there was an app out there that could analyze human interaction and stop us from acting on assumptions?

Beyond Verbal is trying to tackle this mammoth problem. Its tech allows developers to understand people’s moods, attitudes, and emotional characteristics in real-time, as they speak.

“We envision a world in which personal devices understand our emotions and well-being, enabling us to become more in tune with ourselves,” explains Yuval Mor, CEO of Beyond Verbal. “Understanding emotions can assist us in finding new friends, unlocking new experiences and, ultimately, helping us understand better what makes us truly happy.”

The startup’s software can be integrated into existing products, helping devices and applications envision not just what users type, click, or touch, but also how they feel and what they mean.

No chill

Beyond Verbal’s tech may be futuristic but investors are already scrambling to get a piece of the pie. The Israeli startup today announced it has secured US$3 million in series A funding led by Chinese investor Kuang-Chi Science. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Yuval tells Tech in Asia that the tech is applicable in a variety of places, including remote care, mobile applications, voice assistants, wearables, and enterprise solutions.

It has analyzed over 2.3 million voice samples.

The startup’s clients have used it in training and HR software, helping them understand how sales teams were perceived by customers.

It could also be used in call centers, indicating in real-time how customers react to conversations and whether they’re relaxed, angry, or unemotional. Then the company can improve its call script.