Breaking into America is a milestone for any Kiwi start-up and the latest has done it with a digital human.
You may not have heard of this company, but its showreel has everything from buildings to special effects, all designed on its software.
Soul Machines makes artificial intelligence 'human-like' and one of its creations will be the new face of a global software company.
Autodesk turns over $2 billion, and it's come to downtown Auckland and Kiwi company Soul Machines for the latest in artificial intelligence customer service.
"[It's] our first big US customers, so that's always a big milestone for a Kiwi start up," says Soul Machines chief business officer Greg Cross.
Autodesk's current customer service chatbot will be replaced with Ava.
"Ava is a virtual customer service agent, to bring a whole new level of personalisation and brand experience to that customer experience on a day-to-day basis," Mr Cross says.
Soul Machines digital humans are avatars with a central nervous system that can be mapped to show how they respond.
Soul Machines says these machines will be more useful to us and more natural to interact with.
New Zealand's tech sector is now our third biggest export industry - and Soul Machines is now an important part of that growth.
Newshub.
