Novel Effect Raises $3 Million

NovelEffect, a company that many first became aware of through ABC’s Shark Tank, has raised $3 million from a variety of investors. The company also took part in Amazon’s first Alexa Accelerator, and during this round of funding received money from the Alexa Fund. Amazon uses the $100 million Alexa Fund to invest in voice-based interaction companies.

Other investors that participated in this Series A round of funding include: Alpha Edison, TenOneTen, and Waverley Capital, Maveron, Lux Capital, and McCune Capital.

Novel Effect is an app that automatically adds music and sounds to the book reading experience—generally as parents read to kids. According to its site, “Smart voice recognition stays in sync with your reading style, if you skip ahead or read a favorite part again and again.” It's easy to see why Amazon, a company that started as an online bookseller and is now a leader in the smart speaker market, would be interested in an app that enhances the book reading experience through voice technology.