The demand for voice and speech recognition technologies is massive — and growing. An analysis by market research firm Markets and Markets found that the sector could be worth over $28.1 billion by 2027. There’s no shortage of vendors providing voice and speech recognition solutions, but some newer upstarts have managed to carve out niches. […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Sanas, a company founded in 2020, specializes in AI-powered software that adjusts speakers' accents in real-time, aiming to enhance human connection. Inspired by a friend's experience with accent discrimination, the company developed technology that preserves emotion and identity while converting accents. Their patented AI models, trained on over 50 million utterances, have helped them grow to 50 customers across sectors like healthcare and logistics, with an annual revenue of $21 million. Despite criticism about potential homogenization of accents, Sanas emphasizes their mission to reduce discrimination. Recently, they secured $65 million in funding, valuing the company at over $500 million, and plan to expand globally, including opening an office in the Philippines.
