Connect with us

Technology

Voiceitt validates next-generation Voice AI in an innovative pilot for Deaf Individuals

Published

on

In a program facilitated by Newlab, Voiceitt demonstrates the flexibility and inclusivity of its next-generation speech recognition technology for individuals who are English-speaking Deaf and hard-of-hearing with non-standard speech.

TEL AVIV, Israel and STAMFORD, Conn., July 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Voiceitt, the Israel-based leader in speech recognition technology for non-standard speech, announced today the successful completion of a joint pilot validating its inclusive voice AI with Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Voiceitt’s technology was built with and for people with non-standard speech, and its unique speech database includes speech recordings from people with impaired and atypical speech to augment and improve Voiceitt’s voice AI models. This database of non-standard speech allows Voiceitt to provide a more inclusive and accurate experience. Voiceitt further improves its recognition of non-standard speech by providing personalized recognition for individuals who provide a minimum of 200 recordings.

The pilot was facilitated by Newlab, a deep tech venture platform that works closely with innovators as they build, pilot, and scale frontier technologies. The goal of the pilot was to demonstrate an improved accuracy with Voiceitt’s speech recognition with Deaf accented speech and provide qualitative insights to evaluate impactful use cases for voice AI among Deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

Jamie LePinnet, the Director at Newlab who facilitated the pilot, said, “The Voiceitt pilot is directly in line with the goals of the Studio to pilot with startups working on impact-driven advancements in language services. The success of the pilot sets the stage for strategic collaborations that can have a far-reaching impact on customers, and the community at large.”

According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, 48 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss. While the adoption of voice enabled smart speakers and other devices has increased, people with non-standard speech due to being Deaf or hard of hearing are often not able to access and enjoy these devices, which pilot participants noted “rarely understands their speech”. Aside from the convenience of speech recognition over typing, some participants noted that interpreters working with Deaf individuals do not always accurately represent what the speaker aims to express. Another pilot participant explained that when individuals are discussing a sensitive topic, they may prefer not to have a third-party interpreter present, and inclusive speech recognition would help prevent “communication breakdown”, and help them be better understood.

“Speech recognition technology is incredibly valuable for the Deaf community,” said Tyler Pujeda, a heart researcher in Boston who participated in the pilot and is now an active user of Voiceitt’s application. “New inclusive products can help us feel listened to and understood.”

The pilot also analyzed quantitative results of Voiceitt’s proprietary speech recognition software, and compared Voiceitt with the industry’s leading providers of speech recognition, measuring accuracy using the word error rate (WER) metric. Deaf users in this pilot obtained an average of 8% WER (more than 90% accuracy) after training the system with 200 recordings. Voiceitt’s system also achieved higher accuracy than leading industry software for the Deaf speakers with non-standard speech who participated in the pilot, even with no training at all.

Dr. Rachel Levy, a speech pathologist and Voiceitt’s customer success manager, emphasized that while Voiceitt has historically focused on individuals with a diverse range of speech impairments, this pilot offered a unique opportunity. “This pilot validated Voiceitt’s compatibility and increased accuracy with Deaf voices,” Dr. Levy said. “However, its greatest impact resulted from the feedback and insights collected from pilot participants which has directly impacted the development of solutions geared towards the needs and preferences of the Deaf community and the other communities we serve and support.”

ABOUT VOICEITT
Voiceitt’s mission is to help people with disabilities live more connected, independent lives. Voiceitt’s proprietary automatic speech recognition (ASR) enables people with non-standard speech to access mainstream voice technologies, communicate by voice, and be understood. Voiceitt has been highlighted in international media, including Forbes, Amazon Science, BBC, and The New York Times. Investors include Cisco Investments, the Amazon Alexa Fund, AARP, and Microsoft’s M12. Voiceitt was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Israel with a subsidiary in Stamford, CT. Visit www.voiceitt.com to learn more.

ABOUT NEWLAB
Newlab is a venture platform built to decarbonize the economy. We take a place-based approach to de-risking technology, accelerating deep tech startups, and driving economic development. Newlab has 3 locations globally.

Today, Newlab includes more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, partnerships with forward-thinking corporate and civic entities, and a network of active investors—all working together to scale deep tech. To date, Newlab has supported its 300+ member companies in raising over $5.8B from venture capital firms, with over $2.3B of successful exits and a collective valuation of over $20B. Visit www.newlab.com to learn more.

Contacts

Media Contacts:

For Voiceitt:
Sara Smolley, Co-Founder and VP of Partnerships
sara@voiceitt.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/voiceitt-validates-next-generation-voice-ai-in-an-innovative-pilot-for-deaf-individuals-302185159.html

SOURCE Voiceitt, Inc.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

TVU Networks and Tencent Cloud Unveil Next-Generation Cloud Production Solution at NAB 2026

Published

on

By

Strategic partnership combines TVU’s cloud-native production platform with Tencent Cloud’s global infrastructure to power next-generation live streaming workflows

LAS VEGAS, April 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — TVU Networks, a leader in cloud-native live video solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with Tencent Cloud to launch a next-generation cloud-based media production and distribution platform at NAB 2026. The joint solution empowers broadcasters, content creators, and enterprises to elevate the live streaming experience and unlock new revenue streams.

The global media industry is undergoing a structural shift. According to Omdia, total revenue from traditional TV and online video is projected to reach $1.03 trillion by 2030, with online video advertising expected to grow from $309 billion to $540 billion over the same period. The TVU–Tencent Cloud platform is purpose-built to help customers capture this growth — combining professional cloud production with internet-scale interactivity and monetization.

The platform serves three major segments: broadcasters and OTT providers launching agile FAST channels with global CDN distribution; media platforms and creators requiring mobile-first, broadcast-quality production from anywhere; and enterprises producing high-profile live events with professional-grade multi-camera setups and massive concurrent viewership.

At the core is TVU’s cloud-native microservices architecture — proven in the 2024 Paris Games Torch Relay, a global club football championship spanning remote production across nine countries, and BBC’s UK General Election coverage with 369 simultaneous live streams. Deep integration with Tencent Cloud delivers five key advantages: ultra-low latency streaming via intelligent routing across global edge nodes; elastic scalability powered by TKE container services; cloud-native optimization for peak reliability; AI-powered production including automated subtitles, intelligent editing, and content moderation; and enterprise-grade end-to-end encryption from acquisition through distribution.

Paul Shen, CEO of TVU Networks, stated: “TVU has always been committed to making professional production capabilities more efficient and flexible through cloud-native architecture. Tencent Cloud’s deep expertise and customer insights in the media sector are highly complementary to TVU’s product and technology strengths in cloud production — and that’s the foundation that brought us together. The goal of this joint solution is clear: to help customers build a complete pipeline from content production to audience engagement to monetization, making AI&cloud-based production a true engine for business growth.”

Yan Peng added: “Through our partnership with TVU, we can rapidly help customers build a next-generation technology infrastructure — enabling global acquisition, global production, and global distribution — while driving commercial growth through internet-based services.”

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tvu-networks-and-tencent-cloud-unveil-next-generation-cloud-production-solution-at-nab-2026-302746450.html

SOURCE TVU Networks

Continue Reading

Technology

Television New Zealand Partners with Quickplay to Fully Transform Their OTT Platform, Evolving the Broadcaster into a World-Class Digital Platform

Published

on

By

AUCKLAND, New Zealand and TORONTO, April 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Quickplay today announced that it has designed and implemented a comprehensive, cloud-native transformation of the Television New Zealand’s streaming platform, TVNZ+. The landmark project has been built on a new operating system, offering a suite of new services and leveraging AI tools to provide a more personalized experience for viewers. The technology overhaul will drive unprecedented innovation and efficiency for TVNZ, New Zealand’s state-owned broadcaster, which reaches over two million New Zealanders daily.

 Completed in just 12 months, Quickplay replaced a fragmented ecosystem of six+ vendors across UI/UX, content management, video processing, advertising and analytics with a single, unified platform. The team at TVNZ also named Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud platform for the transformation, further increasing efficiencies and lowering costs by consolidating onto a single cloud vendor. Quickplay is available in AWS Marketplace and recently joined the AWS Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Accelerate Program; the TVNZ project marks the first full-scale transformation delivered through the Quickplay AWS partnership.

“At TVNZ our ambition is clear: to be New Zealand’s number one streaming platform for entertainment, sport and trusted news. TVNZ+ already stands shoulder-to-shoulder with global streamers in our market, but standing still is not an option. To reach more Kiwis than anyone else in an increasingly digital world we knew we needed to make a step change. said Rob Hutchinson, Chief Digital Officer, TVNZ. “Working in lockstep with Quickplay we’re delivering something genuinely transformative – and at rapid pace. We’ve simplified our technology stack, reduced complexity and built a platform that lets us move faster and innovate harder. Every efficiency we unlock behind the scenes means a richer experience for New Zealand audiences.”

 Key Innovations include:

A Co-viewing capability: As a predominantly free-to-air broadcaster, advertising is of immense importance to TVNZ. Over 70% of TVNZ+ viewing happens over Connected TVs, where multiple people watch together. With this new feature, TVNZ can pass co-viewer data to the ad stack in real time, enabling them to put each ad into context based on what’s being watched and who’s watching.A unified Live Operations console with “Red Button” Live Ad Insertion: A new, streamlined console, powered by AWS Elemental Media Services, allows TVNZ to manage live channels and events with ad marker insertion via a single interface.Deep CTV Integration: This feature allows TVNZ content to be surfaced to viewers outside of the TVNZ+ app, directly within the CTV homepage.Consolidated Operations: Quickplay’s platform replaces existing systems for video CMS, live operations, UI, and data analytics.Scaling with Cloud: Migrated to a robust AWS cloud infrastructure to support significant concurrent viewership for a range of programs and events, such as the evening news and upcoming World Cup coverage. The live streaming of channels, sports and ad insertion on live TV and VOD is built on AWS Elemental Media Services and integrates Amazon Cloudfront (CDN).Enhanced Monetization: The system includes sophisticated ad-funded (AVOD) features, including sponsored rails, carousels, and pause-ad functionality to maximize revenue.Future-Ready Architecture: The platform integrates Evergent for advanced user management and billing, enabling TVNZ to introduce premium paid content and events for the first time.

“TVNZ has become a powerhouse of innovation, which is particularly unique for the public broadcast segment. They knew that to deliver what their viewers were after, they had to transition to a streamlined, high-performance platform,” said Goutham Vinjamuri, COO of Quickplay. “With that in mind, we built TVNZ a content-to-value operating system that offers their viewers what they want and makes their content library commercially liquid. This evolution illustrates that when you connect a trusted brand to a native-AI ecosystem, you don’t just survive the digital shift – you lead it.”

At The NAB Streaming Summit, TVNZ’s Rob Hutchinson will talk about the powerful features of this brand new platform when he presents “How TVNZ+ Built a Co-Viewing Product that Turns Additional Viewers into Traditional Reach” on Tuesday, April 21 at 11:30am PT.

To schedule a meeting with Quickplay at NAB, email help@quickplay.com.

About TVNZ 
TVNZ (Te Reo Tātaki) is New Zealand’s national broadcaster. We’re at the heart of the moments that matter to Aotearoa, reaching more than 2 million Kiwis through broadcast channels TVNZ 1, 2, DUKE and online platform, TVNZ+. Our purpose is to inspire conversations that shape our nation and enrich the lives of all New Zealanders – connecting Kiwis through trusted journalism, live sport, and world-class entertainment. Every day, across every screen, we reflect who we are and imagine who we might be with stories that inform, challenge, and engage. Visit us at tvnz.co.nz.

About Quickplay:
Quickplay is the Content to Value Operating System for media and entertainment, connecting every stage of the content lifecycle, from creation to monetization. By applying intelligence where it drives measurable impact, Quickplay enables broadcasters, sports operators, streamers, and creators to turn their catalogs into revenue. Quickplay powers 2.5 billion streaming minutes per month, with 5 billion ad impressions served and 99.999% streaming uptime. Quickplay was founded by four innovators with deep media and entertainment technology experience from AT&T, McKinsey and Company, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Headquartered in Toronto, the company has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Chennai, and throughout Europe. For more information, visit quickplay.com.

Media Contacts:
Emily Amey for TVNZ
Emily.Amey@tvnz.co.nz

Breakaway Communications for Quickplay
Quickplaypr@breakawaycom.com
+1 917 731 5734

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/television-new-zealand-partners-with-quickplay-to-fully-transform-their-ott-platform-evolving-the-broadcaster-into-a-world-class-digital-platform-302746632.html

SOURCE Quickplay

Continue Reading

Technology

2026 Vietnam-China Cross-Border Tourism AI Empowerment Cooperation Exchange Program Concludes in Nanning

Published

on

By

NANNING, China, April 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — This is a report from china-asean-media.com.

The 14-day “2026 Vietnam-China Cross-Border Tourism AI Empowerment Cooperation and Exchange Program” successfully concluded on April 19 in Nanning, Guangxi. Co-hosted by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China) and the Departments of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, and Tuyen Quang provinces (Vietnam), the event brought together nearly 30 tourism officials and industry representatives from the four Vietnamese localities.

With the theme “Vietnam-China AI + Cross-Border Tourism Exchange and Cooperation,” the program combined expert lectures, case studies on AI applications, and field visits. Participants gained insights into ASEAN-China tourism policies, AI-driven cross-border cooperation models, and smart tourism technologies. Hands-on training enabled them to use AI tools for decision-making, product development, and destination branding.

The delegation conducted field studies in Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, and Hechi. They visited the China-ASEAN AI Innovation and Cooperation Center, the “Easy Visit Guangxi” platform, the No. Wang Cultural Industrial Park, and the BAO JUN base, experiencing Guangxi’s smart, industrial, landscape, and wellness tourism offerings.

A meaningful part of the program was retracing President Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary footsteps in Guangxi, including visits to the former site of Yucai School in Nanning, the former residence of Ho Chi Minh in Liuzhou, and the “September 2” School site in Guilin. On April 17, all participants attended the launch ceremony of the 2026 Vietnam-China Border People’s Carnival in Nanning, witnessing the deep friendship and mutual support between the border communities of both nations.

At the closing ceremony on April 18, a cross-border tourism product design competition was held. The team from Quang Ninh won the Best Design Award, while teams from Lang Son, Cao Bang, and Tuyen Quang received Excellence Awards. Mr. Lưu Bá Mạc, Vice Director of Lang Son’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, praised the program for fostering practical cooperation and opening new directions for the “comrades and brothers” friendship between local authorities.

The program not only provided Vietnamese tourism professionals with valuable knowledge in AI and smart tourism but also laid a solid foundation for future cooperation in building shared tourism information platforms, developing smart products, and enhancing data connectivity. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to advancing high-quality development of the cultural and tourism industry through AI, contributing to the strategic Vietnam-China community with a shared future.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/2026-vietnam-china-cross-border-tourism-ai-empowerment-cooperation-exchange-program-concludes-in-nanning-302746589.html

SOURCE china-asean-media.com

Continue Reading

Trending