Read AI, a Seattle-based startup known for its software that gauges engagement and sentiment in video meetings, has unveiled its latest offering, “Read Highlights.” Drawing inspiration from ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” Read Highlights aims to condense video meetings into manageable and engaging snippets, much like a sports highlight reel.
Employing OpenAI’s GPT technology, Read Highlights can compress a 60-minute video recording into a 2-minute highlight reel. The large language models integrated with video enable the software to identify key moments in meetings, analyzing not only spoken words but also participants’ reactions.
David Shim, co-founder and CEO of Read AI, commented on the need for such a tool in a recent news release, saying, “What’s more boring than an hour-long meeting? A recording of an hour-long meeting.”
Read Highlights replaces manual meeting notes and recaps with automated text summaries and video highlights, making it easier to share information across an entire organization without inviting everyone to a meeting.
Founded in 2021 by David Shim, Elliott Waldron, and Rob Williams, Read AI was created by the same team behind location analytics startup Placed, which was acquired by Snap for over $200 million in 2017. The startup raised a $10 million seed round amidst the widespread adoption of video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams during the pandemic. Read AI’s software harnesses AI, computer vision, and natural language processing technology to analyze voice and facial movements.
Shim shared with GeekWire that AI is experiencing an “everywhere all at once” moment, and once the initial hype subsides, the applications that persist will transform behaviors and create new habits that scale in terms of usage and revenue.
In addition to Read Highlights, Read AI offers Read Summary, which uses GPT technology in tandem with visual annotations to generate text summaries of meetings, complete with action items, topics, and key questions.
Shim revealed that Read AI has set weekly active user records for 13 consecutive weeks in 2023, with a 597% increase in meetings measured on a weekly basis since the beginning of the year. The company was named a Zoom Essential App in January and launched its first paid product last month.
