Jargon announced today that it has raised $1.8 million in venture pre-seed financing to build its Conversation Platform for voice applications. Ubiquity Ventures and Crosslink Capital led the financing, with participation from Amazon's Alexa Fund, iRobot and others. Sunil Nagaraj of Ubiquity Ventures has joined the board as part of the financing.

Jargon's customers are brands, agencies and independent developers eager to build the best voice applications for services like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Jargon's SDK and cloud-based tools enable customers to structure, manage, and optimize their voice application content. The company was founded in December 2017 and graduated from the Alexa Accelerator, powered by TechStars, in October 2018. The new funding will accelerate the launch of its dynamic Conversation Platform, which enables voice applications to intelligently manage and personalize how they respond to their users.

"It's hard to deny that smart speakers have reached critical mass and yet they still aren't helping us in all the ways they could," said Sunil Nagaraj, Founder and Managing Partner of Ubiquity Ventures. "Jargon helps voice apps say the right thing at the right time and, in doing so, unlocks the potential impact of great voice application developers."

Amazon recently announced that over 100 million Alexa-enabled devices have been sold. Voice technologies are enabling brands to engage their customers in new ways, unlocking an estimated $80 billion in voice commerce by 2023. Jargon's Conversation Platform provides vital functionality for brands and application developers to manage and optimize their user experience, allowing them to take full advantage of the burgeoning voice services.

"Jargon delivers an important service for the growing community of developers and brands building with Alexa, helping them produce richer and more localized, personalized content for customers," added Paul Bernard, Director of the Alexa Fund. "We've been fortunate to support Jargon through its involvement in the 2018 Alexa Accelerator, and we're excited to continue to back them as they expand their service."

"We're incredibly fortunate to have a great group of investors backing us at this exciting stage," said Jargon Founder and CEO, Milkana Brace. "Technology shifts like the one we're witnessing with voice happen once a decade and we're thrilled to be at the right place, the right time and with the right team to capitalize on the opportunities ahead."

About Jargon

Jargon was founded in December 2017 and is based in Seattle, WA. The company enables voice applications on services like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to structure, manage, and optimize their content. For more information, visit www.jargon.com or contact pr@jargon.com.

About Ubiquity Ventures

Ubiquity Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm in Palo Alto, California focused on early-stage investments in promising deep technology companies. Leveraging almost a decade of institutional venture capital experience, Sunil Nagaraj leads Ubiquity Ventures to fund startups pushing software beyond the screen with a focus on smart hardware and machine intelligence applications. With an extended team of over 30 experts with technical and marketing expertise, Ubiquity Ventures aims to deliver superior returns through providing funding and development assistance to promising companies to position them for accelerated growth. More at www.ubiquity.vc.

About Crosslink Capital

Crosslink Capital, founded in 1989, is based in San Francisco and Woodside, CA and focuses on early stage venture capital investing, backing entrepreneurs who are building disruptive and market-transforming companies. Crosslink has raised eight venture capital funds and manages over $1.8 billion. For more information visit www.crosslinkcapital.com.