MyWave earns $50m valuation as it looks to ride PDA boom

July 3rd 2015, By Cris Keall, NBR

“Personal assistants are the next hot thing. The world’s moving from going online and typing in search to having an intelligent digital assistant who brings things to you based on what your preferences are and your needs.”

So says MyWave founder, chief executive and 51% shareholder Gerlandine McBride, whose company has created a personal digital assistant called Frank.

Frank has competition, from Apple’s Siri to Microsoft’s Cortana to other startups like IPSoft (with Amelia) and XAI (with an assistant who can appear on your smart device as either Amy or Andrew).

Even Google is getting in on the act with Google Now, an assistant that will anticipate your needs and serve up information unrequested (Google still dominates web searches but the company is mindful consumers are spending more and more time in apps and on their phones).

Ms McBride settled in Queenstown after a high-flying career that saw her land top roles with SAP and Dell in the US.

When NBR checked in this time last year, Ms McBride has secured $2.5 million funding and the assistant known as Frank was still in the works.

Now, companies are piloting Frank with customers across Australasia. The chief executive won’t name them but she says they include major retailer, a bank,  a tourism operator and a car company.

Shortly after talking to NBR, she headed to New York where she is currently closing a series B funding round that values MyWave at $US35 million ($50 million).

Ms McBride says her company has $300 million of work in its pipeline.

The three-year startup has had money coming in the door since its first year. “We went from nothing to hundreds of thousands; we’re now in millions; and we’re rapidly moving into tens of millions,” she says.

The company is losing money but could move into the black if it took its foot off the expansion pedal, she says.

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