Speech Recognition

AI reading coach startup Ello raises $15M to bolster child literacy

Ello aims to eradicate childhood illiteracy by leveraging artificial intelligence and child speech recognition technology. The startup announced today that it secured $15 million in Series A financing

Amazon’s adding voice-powered gaming to big name games with Alexa Game Control

Amazon announced the launch of Alexa Game Control, allowing gamers to play games by using their voice. “Dead Island 2” will be the first game to be compatible with Alexa Game Control, with other g

Google launches a website version of its Read Along education app for children

Google has launched a website for its Read Along app for encouraging young children to practice reading. The website, which is introduced as a public beta, works with Chrome, Firefox and Edge browsers

Flush with new cash, AssemblyAI looks to grow its AI-as-a-service business

Large-scale machine learning models are at the heart of headline-grabbing technologies like OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 and Google’s LaMDA. They’re impressive, to be sure, capable of generatin

Speechmatics raises $62M for its inclusive approach to speech-to-text AI

Last week I wrote about an AI startup that’s building technology that can alter, in real time, the accent of someone’s speech. But what if the AI goal instead is to make it possible for pe

AI’s role is poised to change monumentally in 2022 and beyond

We are in the early days of what it's going to look like when we're supported by ambient computing tools all the time.

Ava sets the example for universal live captioning and raises $10M to keep building

When we last checked in with AI-powered captioning service Ava, they had just raised a seed round and it was six months into a pandemic that would reshape how we all work together. Eighteen months lat

EU clears Microsoft-Nuance without conditions

The European Union’s competition regulator has given the all-clear to Microsoft’s $19.7 billion purchase of transcription tech firm Nuance, which was announced earlier this year. The EU sa

UK’s antitrust watchdog is taking a look at Microsoft-Nuance

The $19.7 billion acquisition of speech-to-text specialist Nuance by Microsoft, announced earlier this year, has attracted the attention of the U.K.’s active antitrust watchdog — which sai

Gift Guide: 20+ STEM toy gift ideas for aspiring young builders

For this year's STEM toy gift guide we've split out our recommendations by age for easier navigation.

Google tests Project Relate, a voice recognition and synthesis app for people with speech impairments

Google is looking for help developing an Android app aimed at providing more communication options for people with speech impairments. Project Relate, as the effort and app is now called, will provide

Speechmatics pushes forward recognition of accented English

Speech recognition has gone from convenient to crucial over the last few years as smart speakers and driving assist modes have taken off — but not everyone’s voice is recognized equally well.

Amazon brings Alexa to hospitals and senior living centers

After already targeting verticals like hotels and apartment complexes, Amazon announced today it’s now rolling out new solutions for healthcare providers and senior living centers. The solutions

Google makes calling businesses less painful with features for seeing wait times, phone tree options and more

Alongside today’s release of the new Pixel 6 smartphones, Google has again upgraded one of the device’s most basic — but often overlooked — functions: the ability to make phone

Speech recognition works for kids, and it’s about time

Speech recognition holds tremendous promise for something desperately needed in the era of COVID-19: technology that can significantly improve reading outcomes and tackle the global literacy crisis in

To commercialize, voice tech must first solve its ‘cocktail party problem’

Our voice technologies have not been engineered to confront the messiness of the real world or the cacophony of our actual lives.

Sanas aims to convert one accent to another in real time for smoother customer service calls

In the customer service industry, your accent dictates many aspects of your job. It shouldn’t be the case that there’s a “better” or “worse” accent, but in today&#8

Amazon introduces Reading Sidekick, a kids reading companion for Alexa, and Voice Profiles for Kids

Amazon today announced a new feature that will turn Alexa into a reading companion for children, as well as new support for Alexa Voice Profiles for Kids, which personalize the child’s Alexa exp

Apple’s iPadOS 15 breaks the app barrier

The announcement of new iPad software at this year’s WWDC conference had an abnormally large expectation hung on it. The iPad lineup, especially the larger iPad Pro, has kept up an impressively fran

Google’s LaMDA makes conversations with AIs more conversational

As far as AI systems have come in their ability to recognize what you’re saying and respond, they’re still very easily confused unless you speak carefully and literally. Google has been wo
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