Israeli startup Voiceitt, a developer of award-winning commercial speech recognition technology, announced the close of Series A round from June that saw the company pocket $10 million. The investment was led by Viking Maccabee Ventures, Microsoft's M12, AARP, AMIT Technion, Cahn Capital Corp, Connecticut Innovations, while other investors like Quake Capital, SLJ Family Office, Dream Ventures, and The Disability Fund also participated in the funding round.
Giving speech impairment a digital voice
Viking Maccabee Ventures, a leading investor in the round, noted, "We could not be prouder of CEO Danny and the Voiceitt team. Voiceitt has matured from a concept into a cutting edge technology which will materially change the lives of tens of thousands by giving voice to those who cannot speak on their own. We are excited for Voiceitt to serve so many more people in need worldwide in 2020 and beyond."
Flying under the portfolio of Amazon Alexa Fund, Voiceitt provides a game-changing tool for people with speech impairments by developing a digital application that translates unintelligible and a-typical speech in real-time. This innovative tool gives a voice to those who are not understood or can't speak because of genetic defects, illnesses, or other reasons. Voiceitt's voice recognition platform enables those mentioned above to finally have a coherent way of communicating 'wants', 'fears', and love.
"Voiceitt provides a new dimension of independence and quality of life for people with speech and motor disabilities, and a compelling tool for those who care for and about them. Our technology helps with this and much more," said Danny Weissberg, CEO & Co-Founder. "With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our objectives are not only to support the individual's in-person communication but also to assist healthcare professionals and support the continuum of care for their patients."
One of Voiceitt's most significant partners is the Department of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities of Tennessee, who along with The Arc of Tennessee participated in a pilot of Voiceitt's technology with the state. Brad Turner, DIDD Commissioner said, "Our work with Voiceitt is already yielding impactful results for people with intellectual disabilities supported within the DIDD Waiver programs. It's our hope to expand the use of this innovative product in order to provide more opportunities for people to use this technology as a bridge for communication with their loved ones, friends, colleagues, and community members."
In a talk with Geektime, Weissberg offered some insight into his vision for the future as well as the company's current mindset: "Voiceitt's mission is to help millions of people around the world with a-typical speech to communicate in the most natural way- using their own voice. This successful Series-A round will assist Voiceitt making any voice-activated devices or environment to become accessible to individuals with unintelligible speech, who need it the most." While Sara A. Smolley, Voiceitt's EVP & co-founder added that "Voiceitt's versatile technology can be applied in a range of voice-enabled applications in diverse contexts and environments."
Voiceitt's network of international partners includes healthcare providers, speech and occupational therapists, researchers, and disability organizations in the United States and throughout Europe. Voiceitt was founded in 2012 by CEO Danny Weissberg, CTO Stas Tiomkin, and VP Strategy Sara Smolley. The company employs a team of 25 split between the Israeli headquarters and offices in the U.S. To date- the company has banked $15 million in fundraising.
