Following the release of its consumer-facing MindMeld iPad app late last year, Expect Labs has opened up its anticipatory computing platform to developers through the launch of a MindMeld API.
MindMeld uses natural language processing to understand your context and then serve up relevant information before you’ve even asked for it. The new API will allow developers to add a highly-customizable layer of intelligence to their apps.
While we can expect to see virtual assistant apps similar to the MindMeld app, Expect Labs has designed the API so that it has plenty of other uses. The startup is billing the technology as a third-party alternative to advanced search functionality like Google Now and Siri. Some companies have expressed interest in applying MindMeld to customer service situations in order to provide better contextual awareness to customers, while others could use it to provide smart notifications.
Basic access to the API is available to developers for free, but premium plans will increase the number of documents MindMeld will index for them and the amount of requests users can make per month.
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Expect Labs CEO Tim Tuttle said the firm decided to create the API after being approach by developers and companies that wanted to use MindMeld in their own applications.
“We took that technology and made it so we can plug it into anything,” he said.
The startup has also picked up several powerful backers that expressed interest in integrating MindMeld into their products. Investors include Samsung, Telefónica, Google Ventures and Liberty Global Ventures.
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