Helios Life Enterprises

Helios Life Enterprises (HLE), founded in 2017 by Sean Austin and Dr. Gerwin Schalk, operates as a specialized financial technology firm focused on voice-based tonal analysis. The company was acquired by Markets EQ on May 20, 2024, a move designed to merge Helios's tonal analysis capabilities with Markets EQ's generative AI platform for financial communications.

The company’s founding was the confluence of its co-founders' distinct but related expertise. Dr. Schalk, an engineer and scientist specializing in AI, machine learning, and neurotechnology, has long been inspired by the concept of decoding human thoughts and emotions from biological signals. His extensive background includes developing brain-computer interfaces and co-founding several tech ventures, including Neurolutions, which focuses on brain-based stroke rehabilitation. Sean Austin brings over 15 years of experience in audio science, machine learning, and product development. His career includes a role at Tunigo, which was Spotify's first acquisition, and leadership positions at Klarna and aptihealth, where he was instrumental in significant enterprise value growth. The two initially connected when Austin, as a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded an audio biometric analysis company and was advised by Dr. Schalk.

Helios serves the financial sector, providing its services to clients ranging from quantitative hedge funds and systematic investment teams to individual investors and equity traders. The business operates on a B2B model, offering its technology through partnerships and direct integrations. A key partnership with FactSet, for instance, provides Helios with a structured and scalable pipeline of audio from global corporate events like earnings calls.

The core of Helios's offering is a platform that analyzes the tonality of executive voices during critical corporate events to uncover information not apparent in text-based analysis alone. This technology is built on the premise that vocal tone accounts for a significant portion of human communication and can reveal underlying sentiment and stress levels. The platform processes raw audio to identify and analyze over 200 unique tonal features per statement, providing data that can be used to predict company performance, earnings surprises, and market volatility. Its main products have included Comprehend and Mercury. Comprehend is designed for quantitative teams, offering tonal analytics from thousands of earnings calls. The Mercury product provides a REST API that allows clients to submit their own audio files for custom tonal analysis, extending its use to areas like compliance and customer service.

Keywords: tonal analysis, voice analytics, fintech, quantitative analysis, capital markets, predictive analytics, emotional AI, sentiment analysis, speech technology, alternative data, investment management, hedge funds, Sean Austin, Gerwin Schalk, earnings calls, risk management, financial data, audio intelligence, Markets EQ, behavioral finance, neurotechnology