This startup uses AI to give speech-impaired people their voices back

Whispp, a Dutch AI startup, has developed assistive voice technology to convert speech affected by conditions such as stuttering, throat cancer, vocal cord paralysis, and ALS into the person’s original, natural voice, intending to create a more inclusive world.

The startup has secured a €750,000 seed funding round led by LUMO Labs to launch its assistive voice technology and its first paid and subscription-based calling app, as well as to expand into European and US markets. It was also honored as a CES 2024 Innovation Award honouree.

The company’s proprietary technology uses recordings of a person’s original healthy voice to turn their real-time, affected speech into a clear voice by modifying it with the intended intonation, modulation, and emotion. This aims to eliminate communication barriers caused by voice distortions and significantly contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion.