Cisco, a leading communications, and collaboration company, announced its acquisition of the MindMeld AI brand in 2017. Before this purchase, MindMeld was an innovative AI startup based in San Francisco, responsible for supporting smart conversational interfaces for companies in a host of industry environments.
Today, MindMeld is bringing the same technology to Cisco products, making them smarter, more natural, and easier to use. The MindMeld team is now a comprehensive part of the Cisco Webex team for Intelligence, which develops machine-learning focused experiences throughout the Cisco Webex landscape.
Voice Control and Webex Assistant
Last year, Cisco launched the Webex Assistant, an innovative enterprise voice assistant for the meeting room. Using Webex Assistant, customers can use just their voice to control Webex video conferencing devices, review room calendars, join meetings online, contact people in a company directory, and more.
Although Webex Assistant had its roots as an intelligent assistant for conference rooms, the Cisco team expanded its availability by bringing it into the Webex Meetings software. The company also added support for a new selection of in-meeting voice requests, which allow users to take notes, create action items and establish future meeting times.
The Webex Assistant runs on the MindMeld AI platform. Mindmeld developed this Python-based framework for machine learning as a startup and wanted to continue to build and improve on the technology at Cisco. Teams in Cisco now use Mindmeld for a range of natural language applications, including automated FAQ answer, IVR systems, and even search functionality.
The Open-Source MindMeld Platform
MindMeld has a lot to offer in the Cisco landscape. Cisco even uses the solution or query parsing in Cisco internal enterprise searching and extern-facing website search. After Cisco introduced Webex Assistant, MindMeld open-sourced the platform.
