Fable Raises $25 Million In Series B Funding

Fable Raises Funding: Toronto-based accessibility tech startup Fable has raised USD 25 million (CAD 33.8 million) in Series B funding as it looks to further address inclusivity in digital products, including artificial intelligence (AI). 

The round was led by Five Elms Capital.

The company intends to use the funds to build inclusive datasets and teams for AI product development. 

Fable Raises Funding In Series B Funding 

Founded by CEO Alwar Pillai, Fable provides an accessibility platform empowered by people with disabilities.

It helps organizations build digital user experiences for over 1 billion people who live with disabilities. 

It enables accessibility managers, user researchers, designers, and developers to connect remotely and on-demand to people with disabilities, who are daily assistive technology users. 

The company also provides full-service training, embedded research programs, and expert-led workshops that help companies operationalize accessibility and move beyond compliance.

The funding comes at a critical time as AI rapidly transforms various industries. While AI has the potential to bridge accessibility gaps, it also risks perpetuating digital exclusion if not developed with inclusivity in mind.

Alwar Pillai, CEO and co-founder of Fable emphasized this challenge: “AI is penetrating every field. This may be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish new norms for accessibility that truly reduce the digital divide. However there’s also a clear danger if we fail to embrace inclusive design in AI.”

Fable Raised Funding To Be Used For The Following:

1. Expand its tester community to include individuals with hearing and cognitive disabilities
2. Develop AI accessibility best practices
3. Create inclusive datasets for AI training
4. Offer specialized training for R&D teams on accessible AI

Fable is also looking to use its platform to tackle accessibility issues in AI training datasets, which it claims often excludes data representing people with disabilities leading to undetected accessibility issues and bias. 

For example, Pillai noted that AI-based systems meant to detect students cheating or recognize faces may not be properly calibrated for disabled people, and that generative AI tools often struggle to accurately represent people with disabilities, resulting in homogenous and stereotyped content.

The company already works with major tech giants like Microsoft, Meta, and Walmart. Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Microsoft’s Chief Accessibility Officer, highlighted the value of this collaboration: “Fable Raises Funding. Fable’s work has been valuable in helping us bridge the disability divide through their community of accessibility testers and training solutions.”

Fable Global Expansion 

Fable raised funding will also support Fable’s global expansion, particularly in Europe, where new regulations like the European Accessibility Act will soon require accessible digital experiences.

Fable’s $25 million Series B funding is a significant milestone, not just for the company, but for the broader movement towards digital inclusivity. The company last secured CAD 13.4 million (USD 10.5 million) as part of its Series A round in May 2022, which led to the launch of its Fable Upskill online course offering. 

In August 2023, co-founder and CEO Alwar Pillai announced that Fable had laid off 13 employees, but did elaborate on why the cuts were made. 

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