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Line plans Siri-like ‘Clova’ chatbot after acquiring AI firm Vinclu
Line Corp. is moving into artificial intelligence with the acquisition Thursday of a controlling stake in the Japanese holographic AI firm Vinclu.
Line, best-known in Asia for its social chat app, said at Mobile World Congress that it intends to launch a Siri-like chatbot later this year.
Founded in 2014, Vinclu designs, develops, and manufactures smartphone accessories including Gatebox, a “virtual home robot” that is claimed to deliver “virtual moments when characters merge into everyday life as usual and spend the same time relaxed.”
Line’s entry into AI goes by the name of “Clova,” short for cloud virtual assistant, and will be available not only on its insanely popular messaging app but also, like Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa, on dedicated hardware as well.
Details are a little thin at this stage, but the company said Clova will offer the basics, such as the ability to check the weather, listen to news, order products and update a calendar, along with some interesting add-ons such as facial recognition and the ability to answer “complicated questions.”
According to The Verge, the first two products to support Clova will be a dedicated Clova app and a smart speaker called Wave, which appears visually to be Line’s take on Amazon’s Echo. The company also showed another device, called the “Clova Smart Display Face,” which appears to be a speaker with a face, but no further details were forthcoming.
How Clova ties in with Gatebox isn’t clear, but the company did describe the product as a “holographic home assistant [that] is voice activated and uses a variety of sensors to interact with the device’s operator in a realistic and natural manner, while also connecting to a range of devices in the home.” The company added in a statement that it was attempting to “create a thriving ecosystem of contents, services and devices with a wide range of partners, allowing the Clova platform to continue to expand and develop over time.”
Clova’s announcement comes as Line posted its biggest-ever stock drop in January because of slowing growth. While it can boast of having 217 million users as of December, it has struggled to expand outside its native Asian market and faces strong competition from the Facebook Inc.-owned WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger as well.
Image: Line
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