Speaksee, a Dutch speech recognition app that allows hearing-impaired and deaf people to participate in group conversations, has scored over €1 million in funding.
Who invested in the company?
Of this €800K was provided by investors, including the impact fund NoorderImpact and various angel investors, such as the founders of the Dutch unicorn DataSnipper, Jonas Ruyter and Kai Bakker, and angel investors who participated through Rabobank’s Money Meets Ideas network. In addition, €240K of previously raised convertible loans was converted into equity capital. The funding round was supported by Generous Minds and Zebra Legal.
Funds utilisation
The funding will be used for Speaksee’s expansion into the UK, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The company chose these countries as they offer good reimbursement options for assistive devices for people with disabilities. In addition, Speaksee is currently assessing its opportunities for expansion into Germany.
Furthermore, the company will develop its innovative technology to make it applicable in more situations.
Sjoerd Zijlstra of NoorderImpact said: “Speaksee matches very well with our goal to empower excluded groups in social situations. Its team is driven and has a strong connection to the target group. Therefore, we can’t think of a better company to make this initiative successful.”
How was the idea born?
With both parents being deaf, Jari Hazelebach saw the challenges for hearing-impaired and deaf people to follow group conversations. He decided to develop a solution. Together with partner and co-founder Marcel van der Ven, Speaksee was launched in the Netherlands in 2022.
The company believes that technology can take away barriers and create the conditions supporting people to thrive. Its mission is to assist the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
What does the company do?
The Speaksee app converts individual or group conversations into accurate written text, using colours to distinguish what’s being said by different speakers. It increases inclusivity in society by using technology to remove language barriers and create the right conditions so that everyone can reach their full potential.
The app works in 40 languages for both input and output.The company is currently working on solutions to make event locations for gatherings such as lectures and conferences, auditoriums, funeral homes and churches accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing through AI-based subtitling and translation technology.
Jari Hazelebach, co-founder of Speaksee said, “NoorderImpact is one of the few investors that has included social inclusion as a company pillar. We are extremely pleased with the confidence of our financiers in us and our technology. The funding raised brings us one step closer to our goal: a society where everyone can actively participate in conversations and interaction, in any situation.”
What do we think about Speaksee?
The company’s future looks promising as it continues to expand and innovate. By providing real-time transcription for group conversations, it significantly enhances inclusivity for the deaf and hard of hearing.
As it grows into new markets and develops its technology for broader applications, Speaksee will play a crucial role in making various social settings, from lectures to events, more accessible, thereby improving communication and participation for all.
