AudioTelligence Raises $3.1 million in Seed Capital
AudioTelligence is a spin-out of CEDAR Audio, a company that has close ties with the University of Cambridge’s Signal Processing and Communications Laboratory. While CEDAR Audio focuses on audio restoration and speech enhancement for many types of entertainment audio, AudioTelligence makes use of the signal processing and CEDAR technologies to focus on speech recognition, among other projects. Last week, it was announced that Cambridge Innovation Capital had invested $3.1 million in seed capital in AudioTelligence.
Software Based
AudioTelligence stands out among the crowd because of their ability to recognize a voice in a crowded audio environment. They use a software approach to speech recognition rather than the popular approach of using several carefully calibrated microphones. The result is that their speech recognition software routinely outperforms current commercially available products but at a lower cost to implement. This is due to the fact that their software solution is sold by the license, meaning users can work with their existing speech recognition devices and do not have to buy a new product each time a better device comes on the market. According to AudioTelligence, “Our low latency audio source separation technology removes the interfering noises that make effective speech recognition impossible. In tests, we improved the sentence recognition rate for a leading home assistant platform from 22% to 91% in noisy conditions.”
The company’s audio source separation technology can be used in any device that requires speech applications, such as automobiles, voice assistants, consumer products and smart TVs. For example, integrating AudioTelligence with an in-car voice control system can enable it to understand the user despite a blasting radio, wind, and other passengers talking. They also have a similar claim for home assistants and other consumer products like Smart TVs, “[they] will be able to hear and understand you even when the TV is on and the children are screaming and shouting.” Sound Recognition is not AudioTelligence’s only interest, either, as they also focus on developing technology for the communications and hearing assistance fields.
Continual Investment in Voice
CIC’s move to invest $3.1 million in seed capital is important to note, because it provides concrete evidence that voice technology is not just a trend, rather something that will critically shape our lives in the future. As noted by Voicebot in July, investment in voice from seed to later stage investments is likely to continue.
- Bespoken Raises $2.4 Million Seed Funding Round in July
- Voice game developer Sensible Object closed $3.2 million round in June.
- Novel Effect which enhances stories with sound effects raised $3 million in June.
- Independent voice assistant developer Snips.ai raised a $13 million funding round in June.
- Independent voice assistant developer SoundHound closed $100 million in financing in May.
- Healthcare voice assistant startup Suki raised $20 million in May.
- Voice interactive meeting assistant maker Voicera closed $20 million in funding in April.
- Sayspring was acquired by Adobe in April.
