Next time you ask your Amazon Alexa to quote your favorite movie, you might be using a search engine built by Blerp, a company founded by a University of Utah alum.
Blerp makes audio content searchable and shareable, allowing you to add audio clips to any moment. Amazon recently selected the company to participate in Alexa Next Stage ─ a program that supports companies with products that improve the Alexa voice service.
“Being able to tap into this distribution is really exciting,” said Aaron Hsu, who founded Blerp while studying computer science at the U. “Alexa has opened up a lot of partnerships for us.”
The Alexa Next Stage will help Blerp engage in the market of voice-enabled devices to grow its business and reach more people. To get ready for the future, the company moved into an office downtown this summer, and it has allowed them to collaborate and share ideas instantly.
Along with funding from the Alexa Next Stage, Blerp has closed investment rounds with the Salt Lake City-based firm Kickstart Fund, among other venture capital firms this year.
Hsu launched the company with support from the University of Utah’s Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute programs, including Get Seeded and Company Launch.
“Lassonde was a good place to have a lot of like-minded people who were excited about what they were doing,” Hsu said. “And I think there’s just so much power in having people around you that are doing things bigger than themselves.”
Hsu’s inspiration for Blerp came from his appreciation of sharing content to connect with each other. He admires not only the amount of expression the presence of audio holds, but also how much meaning you can take from a single piece of sound.
More than soundbites on Alexa, Blerp enables you to add audio expression for any purpose you have to connect with viewers or connect with kids. Blerp allows you to share soundbites in ways similar to sharing GIF images.
Hsu said, “I get really excited about Blerp because of the idea that sound is something that’s universal that we can all relate to.”
Learn more about Blerp on their website at blerp.com.
