The Allen Institute for AI (AI2) started its incubator up two years ago, helping launch companies like Xnor.ai, Blue Canoe, and WellSaidLabs. Their success has attracted funding from not just local Seattle VC outfit Madrona, but Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, and Two Sigma as well, resulting in a new $10M fund that should help keep the lights on. The AI2 Incubator, led by Jacob Colker since its inception in 2017, has focused on launching a handful of companies every year that in some way leverage a serious AI advantage. Blue Canoe, for instance, does natural language processing with a focus on accent modification; Xnor.ai is working on ultra-low-power implementations of machine learning algorithms, and was just acquired yesterday by Apple for a reported $200M. Apple buys edge-based AI startup Xnor.ai for a reported $200M "We think the next generation of so called AI-first companies are going to have to graduate into building long term, successful businesses that start with an AI edge," said the program's new managing director, Bryan Hale.

While the familiar idiom "you say tomayto, I say tomahto" is meant to showcase the triviality of differences, the irony lies in its illustration of the wide variation in English pronunciation. Such vagaries in pronunciation can make English difficult for many nonnative speakers unused to pronouncing certain sounds. English is a stress-based language, meaning that it requires emphasis on particular syllables, said Sarah Daniels, CEO and co-founder of English-learning startup Blue Canoe. "If someone is not proactively thinking about stress ... we, in our system, can teach them where it is and how to do it." Bellvue-based Blue Canoe's mobile app directs its users to repeat sentence prompts and record them.

While the familiar idiom "you say tomayto, I say tomahto" is meant to showcase the triviality of differences, the irony lies in its illustration of the wide variation in English pronunciation. Such vagaries in pronunciation can make English difficult for many nonnative speakers unused to pronouncing certain sounds. English is a stress-based language, meaning that it requires emphasis on particular syllables, said Sarah Daniels, CEO and co-founder of English-learning startup Blue Canoe. "If someone is not proactively thinking about stress … we, in our system, can teach them where it is and how to do it." Bellvue-based Blue Canoe's mobile app directs its users to repeat sentence prompts and record them.