Sherpa.ai raised $8.5m in Series A funding from Mundi Ventures.

Sherpa.ai, a Bilbao, Spain and Palo Alto, USA-based software developer of AI-basedlanguage digital voice assistants, announced securing $8.5 million in series A funding.

The money was provided by Mundi Ventures and included participation from angel investor Alex Cruz, known as Chairman and CEO of British Airways.

The proceeds will be used to accelerate the development of its conversational AI platform and predictive voice-enabled digital assistant for consumers and businesses.

The round represents an extension to an initial series A, bring the total to roughly $15 million.

Sherpa.ai, founded in 2012 and led by CEO Xabi Uribe-Etxebarria, developed a digital assistant technology based on AI algorithms with conversational and predictive abilities that allow the assistant to learn about the users and anticipate their needs before they ask.

The technology comes as a mobile app for phones and tablets, has been preinstalled on Samsung smartphones since 2016 and has a product for cars, thanks to an agreement with Porsche.