Respeecher is a Ukrainian software company developing

speech synthesis Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal langua ...

software enabling one person to speak in the voice of another particular person using

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

History

Respeecher was founded in February 2018. A year later, the startup completed the

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

LIFT Labs Accelerator, powered by Techstars. They received $1.5 million in startup funding in early March 2020. Since 2018, Respeecher have raised over $3 million in investments and share their technology with Hollywood movie studios, video game creators, and other businesses. The Respeecher team, most of which is located in Ukraine, was able to continue working despite the full-scale

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

in February 2022. In December 2020, Respeecher was credited in the season finale of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

streaming TV series ''

The Mandalorian ''The Mandalorian'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the ''Star Wars'' franchise and begins five years after the events of the fil ...

'' for synthesizing the voice of young Luke Skywalker. In February 2021, they worked on the voice of

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( ; June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be among the greatest coaches and leaders in Ame ...

for the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

commercial. In September 2021, the Respeecher team was awarded with an Emmy for interactive documentary for their work on

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's voice (combined with the dialogue being performed by another actor) in the internet short film "In Event of Moon Disaster". In February 2022, Respeecher was credited in "Chapter 6" of ''

The Book of Boba Fett ''The Book of Boba Fett'' is an American space Western television miniseries created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the ''Star Wars'' franchise and a spin-off from '' The Mandalorian'', taking place in the same ...

'', for providing the synthetic voice of young

Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...

. In March 2022, Respeecher enabled multilingual singing voice cloning for

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally as Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer and rapper. He is known for his guest performance on Avicii's 2013 single "Wake Me Up (Avicii song), Wake Me Up", which peaked on ...

's tribute to

Avicii Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...

. On June 27, 2022, the company created an AI voice for Darth Vader based on actor

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

's archive recordings from earlier Star Wars projects in the TV series ''Obi-Wan Kenobi''. Jones signed a deal with

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas in December 10, 1971 in San Rafael, California, and later moved to San Francisco in 2005. It is best known for creating and producing th ...

authorizing his voice to be used in this manner for future productions, and subsequently retired from voicing the character later that year. In November 2022, the first synthetic speech artist was credited in Sony's video game ''

God of War Ragnarök ''God of War Ragnarök'' is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, marking the ...

''. In February 2023, Respeecher, alongside

OpenAI OpenAI, Inc. is an American artificial intelligence (AI) organization founded in December 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. It aims to develop "safe and beneficial" artificial general intelligence (AGI), which it defines ...

and

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, was among the initial 10 companies to pledge commitment to the

Partnership on AI Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society, otherwise known as Partnership on AI (PAI), is a nonprofit coalition committed to the responsible use of artificial intelligence. Coming into inception in September 2016, PAI g ...

's community-driven framework. This framework aims to guide the ethical and responsible development, creation, and sharing of synthetic media and AI technology. In October 2023,

CD Projekt CD Projekt S.A. () is a Polish video game company based in Warsaw, founded in May 1994 by Marcin Iwiński and Michał Kiciński. Iwiński and Kiciński were video game retailers before they founded the company, which initially acted as ...

announced they had used Respeecher to synthesize the voice of Miłogost Reczek, who died in 2021, for the Polish language release of the ''

Cyberpunk 2077 ''Cyberpunk 2077'' is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Based on Mike Pondsmith's ''Cyberpunk (role-playing game), Cyberpunk'' tabletop game series, the plot is set in the fictional metrop ...

'' expansion ''Phantom Liberty''. They said they had obtained permission from Reczek's family. In 2023, the company actively contributed to the development of the "Zvook", an acoustic sensor system, a project endorsed by

Brave1 Brave1 is a Government of Ukraine platform to bring together innovative companies with ideas and developments that can be used in the defense of Ukraine, launched on 26 April 2023. It was founded by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukrai ...

, tailored to meet the specific requirements of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

. Company representatives played a pivotal role by providing expertise in automation and signal identification, enhancing the system's capability to discern the origin of impacts and effectively contribute to military operations. In 2024, Respeecher endorsed the NO FAKES Act to protect individual voices and likenesses from unauthorized recreations, releasing a statement stating that "this legislative measure is vital in safeguarding individual rights against unauthorized use of their voice and likeness in the age of advanced artificial intelligence and

deepfake ''Deepfakes'' (a portmanteau of and ) are images, videos, or audio that have been edited or generated using artificial intelligence, AI-based tools or AV editing software. They may depict real or fictional people and are considered a form of ...

technology".

Contribution to creative projects

Films

Television

Video games

Music

Project awards and nominations

{, class="wikitable" , + !Year !Award !Category !Project !Status , - , 2024 , Campaign Audio Advertising Awards , Best Use of AI , BBC promo for The Capture , Won , - , 2024 ,

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, Jury Prize , Emilia Perez , Won , - , 2024 , The Webby Awards , Best Art Direction AI, Metaverse, & Virtual , The Impossible Bedtime Story , Won , - , 2024 , The Webby Awards , Accessible Technology Websites and Mobile Sites , The Impossible Bedtime Story , Won , - , 2024 ,

Sports Emmy Awards The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports E ...

, Best Documentary Series , Goliath, a Showtime/Paramount+ documentary series about

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain ( ; August21, 1936 – October12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player. Standing tall, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 seasons. He was enshrin ...

, Nominated , - , 2023 , Clio Entertainment Awards , Gold Winner , MTV News promo for Yellowjackets , Won , - , 2023 , The Webby Awards , People's Voice Winner Best Use of AI and ML , ''Once Upon a Time in Carrotland'' audiobook narrated by

JOLLY Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

's Josh Carrott , Won , - , 2021 , News & Documentary Emmy Awards , Outstanding Interactive Media: Documentary , In Event of Moon Disaster deepfake documentary , Won

References

Software companies of Ukraine Artificial intelligence companies Companies established in 2018 2018 establishments in Ukraine