 | This article needs to be updated. (August 2019) |
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
Type of site | Answer Engine |
| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | , |
| Founder(s) | William Tunstall-Pedoe |
| Industry | Internet |
| Products | Evi, Amazon Alexa |
| Parent | Amazon.com, Inc. |
| URL | evi |
| Registration | Yes |
| Launched | 7 November 2007 |
| Current status | Beta |
Evi (formerly True Knowledge) is a technology company in Cambridge, England, founded by William Tunstall-Pedoe,[1][2][3] which specialises in knowledge base and semantic search engine software. Its first product was an answer engine that aimed to directly answer questions on any subject posed in plain English text, which is accomplished using a database of discrete facts.[4][5] The True Knowledge Answer engine was launched for private beta testing and development on 7 November 2007.[6]
In January 2012 True Knowledge launched a major new product Evi (pronounced ee-vee), an artificial intelligence program which can be communicated with using natural language via an app on iPhone and Android.[3][7][8][9]
The company changed its name from True Knowledge to Evi in June 2012.[10]
In October 2012, Evi was acquired by Amazon and is now part of the Amazon group of companies.[11][12] The technology and team became a key part of Amazon Alexa assistant (debuting with the Amazon Echo).[13]
- ^ MediaGuardian 100 2009 The Guardian (newspaper). 13 July 2009
- ^ A billion facts mean Evi has the answers Archived 3 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Cambridge News (newspaper). 19 February 2012
- ^ a b New Virtual Helper Challenges Siri Archived 4 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Technology Review (MIT). Rachel Metz. 27 January 2012
- ^ Cambridge AI specialist seeks funding for latest exciting venture. 7 May 2007. True Knowledge. Retrieved 2 Dec. 2008
- ^ Technology. True Knowledge. Retrieved 2 Dec. 2008
- ^ True Knowledge launches open beta. 7 November 2007. TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 Dec. 2008
- ^ Apple iPhone Siri, meet competitor Evi, from True Knowledge. Alternative to iPhone 4S. Global Post. Richard Orange. 24 January 2012
- ^ Hands-On: Evi App Brings Siri-Like Smarts to iOS and Android 24 January 2012. Wired.
- ^ Evi arrives in town to go toe-to-toe with Siri 23 Jan 2012. Techcrunch
- ^ Mike Butcher (14 June 2012). "Siri's Nemesis Evi Relaunches, Recruits Berkowitz From Wolfram Alpha, Opens US Office". Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ "Evi - an Amazon Company".
- ^ Why US tech giants are buying British AI start-ups CNBC 5 February 2016 Arjun Karpal
- ^ The Real Story of How Amazon Built the Echo Bloomberg 19 April 2016 Joshua Brustein.