Technology

Palabra.ai Takes #1 Spot for Speed in New Text-to-Speech (TTS) Benchmark

Published

2 months ago

July 31, 2026

Palabra ranks #1 for latency on Coval’s independent, open-source text-to-speech benchmark, posting 104 milliseconds — roughly twice as fast as the nearest competitor — with a 6% word error rate.

Coval’s independent benchmark puts Palabra’s text-to-speech model at 104 ms latency — about twice as fast as the next-closest competitors.

LONDON, July 31, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Palabra, a real-time speech AI company, has ranked #1 for latency on Coval’s independent TTS benchmark, a widely watched, continuously updated leaderboard tracking how leading voice AI models perform under real-world conditions. Palabra posted 104 milliseconds of latency and a 6% word error rate (WER), outpacing ElevenLabs, Cartesia, and other major players in the space — roughly twice as fast as the nearest competitor.

The hardest problem in speech AI is making voice agents feel indistinguishable from a real person. Latency above 200 milliseconds breaks that. We built our TTS for extremely low time-to-first-audio at production scale. Coval’s benchmark ranks us #1 at 104 ms, nearly twice as fast as the next model.

Latency is one of the key factors determining whether a voice AI system can support a fluid, real-time conversation. Even when the generated voice itself sounds highly natural, a noticeable delay before each response can disrupt the flow of dialogue, creating awkward pauses, causing people to talk over each other, and making the interaction feel less immediate. Many voice AI systems still operate at around 500 milliseconds of latency or more. Palabra’s model achieves 104 milliseconds in Coval’s independent benchmark, significantly reducing the delay between turns and enabling a more fluid, uninterrupted dialogue.

Coval’s benchmark is built to reflect production reality rather than idealized lab conditions: it measures Time to First Audio (TTFA) — the delay a listener actually notices, including any silence before the first audible sample — using pinned, versioned datasets so every provider is scored against identical inputs. Word error rate is calculated by transcribing each provider’s synthesized audio with a fixed ASR model and scoring it against the original text, so the number reflects whether the speech is intelligible, not just fast. The full runner and methodology are open-source and independently reproducible.

“Latency is one of the most consequential metrics in voice AI,” said Brooke Hopkins, Founder and CEO of Coval. “Humans respond in around 400 milliseconds, and systems slower than that feel unnatural regardless of output quality. What makes Palabra’s result significant is what it creates downstream: when a model is this fast, every other component in the stack gets more time to think.”

Palabra says the result reflects a new TTS architecture that achieves 35ms of time-to-first-audio before network overhead, paired with production infrastructure built to hold that speed at scale across large volumes of concurrent users.

“The biggest unsolved challenge that the world’s leading speech AI labs are working on today is making interactions with AI voice agents feel indistinguishable from conversations with another person,” said Artem Kukharenko, CEO & Co-founder of Palabra Al. “Latency above 200 milliseconds introduces a noticeable delay that disrupts the natural flow of communication. That’s why we’ve focused on building TTS with extremely low time-to-first-audio that could work at large scale in production systems. In Coval’s independent benchmark, we rank #1 at 104ms — the closest competitor is approximately twice as slow.”

The TTS result is part of a broader focus at Palabra on real-time speech models — spanning text-to-speech, speech recognition (ASR), and speech-to-speech translation — built around low latency as a core design principle across the stack.

About Palabra

Palabra is a voice AI lab developing real-time models for text-to-speech (TTS), automatic speech recognition (ASR), and speech-to-speech translation. Its proprietary models and APIs enable developers and enterprises to build low-latency multilingual voice experiences across customer support, conferencing, live streaming, education, and other real-time applications. Palabra recently raised $8.4 million in pre-seed funding led by Seven Seven Six (776) with participation from Creator Ventures, and prominent angel investors including Max Mullen, co-founder of Instacart; Anne Lee Skates, former partner at Andreessen Horowitz; Mehdi Ghissassi,, former Head of Product at DeepMind; and Namat Bahram, an early backer of ElevenLabs.

About Coval

Coval is the San Francisco-based evaluation platform for voice AI, founded by ex-Waymo engineer Brooke Hopkins. It builds independent, continuously updated, open-source benchmarks that measure how voice AI systems perform in production, rather than in idealized lab conditions. Coval recently raised a $28M Series A led by Norwest, with Twilio Ventures and Y Combinator also on the cap table, and is already trusted by over 60 organizations, including Zoom and Deepgram. Its public TTS leaderboard is available at benchmarks.coval.ai/tts.

Media Contact

Dmytro Tymoshenko, PALABRA.AI LTD, 380 939944325, d.tymoshenko@palabra.ai, palabra.ai

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SOURCE PALABRA.AI LTD

Technology

Shanghai Electric Presents Three Energy Transition Solutions at Enlit Asia 2026

Published

14 minutes ago

September 23, 2026

Supporting power-sector decarbonization, grid resilience, and low-carbon fuels across ASEAN

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Shanghai Electric (SEHK: 02727, SSE: 601727) showcased three energy transition solutions under the theme “Powering the Archipelago” at Enlit Asia 2026, held Sept. 22-24 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

As the premier annual platform for the ASEAN power sector, Enlit Asia attracts more than 11,000 attendees and 280 exhibitors, bringing together industry leaders, policymakers and innovators to explore advances, share insights and shape the region’s energy future.

Three Solutions for ASEAN’s Energy Transition

Tailored to the ASEAN market, the three solutions address key regional energy transition needs, including reducing carbon emissions from existing thermal power systems, enhancing renewable energy integration and stable operation of island grids, and providing low-carbon fuels for the shipping and aviation industries.

The High-Efficiency Power & Decarbonization solution is designed to help markets like Indonesia reduce power-system carbon intensity, spanning unit upgrades, fuel transition, and system optimization. Modular steam turbines for H- and F-class combined-cycle systems meet both power and heating needs while improving efficiency and reducing overall costs. Heavy-duty gas turbines can operate with up to 30% hydrogen blending, and coal-fired power retrofit solutions improve thermal efficiency and reduce coal consumption for lower-carbon operation.

The Grid Modernization & Resilience Upgrade solution addresses island-grid challenges in renewable energy integration, frequency regulation and voltage stability. It combines synchronous condensers, flywheels, multi-technology energy storage and integrated solar-storage power pods. Synchronous condensers and flywheels deliver rapid frequency response and inertia support; multi-technology storage covers short- to long-duration applications; and the power pods provide plug-and-play clean emergency power for remote areas and critical loads.

Building on the Jilin Taonan project, the full-chain Power-to-X Integrated Solutions cover wind and solar generation, green hydrogen, biomass gasification, and green methanol synthesis. The project has completed 8,000 tons of green methanol bunkering, a global single-bunkering record. Phase II, launched on August 20, 2026, targets 200,000 tons of green methanol and 10,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel annually. Shanghai Electric is now extending these solutions to ASEAN’s shipping and aviation markets to support low-carbon fuel supply and shipping decarbonization.

Local Presence, Regional Impact

Shanghai Electric’s technologies and system solutions are supported by an established regional track record. Its energy equipment and services are deployed in Southeast Asian markets including Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, with representative projects such as the Indonesia Pelabuhan Ratu 3 x 350 MW Coal-fired Power Station Project, the renewable energy plant in Selangor, Malaysia, and the recent Samalaju 500 MW-class combined-cycle gas power project in Sarawak, Malaysia.

These projects demonstrate the company’s integrated capabilities across traditional power upgrades, high-efficiency gas generation, renewable energy, and green fuels—laying a foundation for the three solutions’ further application in ASEAN.

During Enlit Asia 2026, Shanghai Electric also participated in the official conference agenda, delivering a technical presentation titled “Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Technology for Clean, Efficient, and Smart Power Generation,” outlining its technology roadmap and regionally adapted solutions in heavy-duty gas turbines and combined-cycle systems. The company also hosted multiple roadshows and exchange activities, inviting representatives from PLN, Indonesia’s national electricity company, local customers, and academics in the energy sector to discuss fuel diversification and the development of Indonesia’s power system.

Looking ahead, Shanghai Electric will continue to draw on its energy equipment manufacturing and system solution capabilities to work with ASEAN partners and support the transition to more efficient, stable and lower-carbon energy systems across Southeast Asia.

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SOURCE Shanghai Electric

Technology

JustMarkets: How Browser-Based Trading Is Changing Access to Global CFD Markets

Published

14 minutes ago

September 23, 2026

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — JustMarkets today showcased its browser-based CFD trading platform, offering traders direct, installation-free access to global CFD markets. As more traders move between devices, this web-based solution allows users to execute Contracts for Difference (CFD) operations directly from any web browser.

Trading Without Installation

The use of browser-based trading software may remove a common obstacle to market participation — installation. Traders do not need to download any software, configure the device, or rely on a single computer for their trading activities.

Users who trade in different places and use different devices may benefit most from browser-based platforms. The software becomes more accessible to traders who need quick access to charts and quotes.

Faster Access When Markets Move

CFD markets globally can respond swiftly to macroeconomic figures, central bank announcements, earnings news, commodity price fluctuations, and other geopolitical events.

JustMarkets’ web-based solution allows traders to respond to these events without the delay of installing software. While this cannot eliminate trading risk, it may improve the convenience of market access.

One Platform for Multiple CFD Markets

For CFD trading, browser-based trading terminals may be helpful, regardless of the asset class the trader uses. From forex and commodities to indices, stocks, and cryptocurrency CFDs, the trader can track multiple markets on a single online platform. It is particularly relevant in cases where traders monitor more than one instrument at a time or develop strategies based on overall market sentiment.

Simplicity for Everyday Trading

Not all traders require a complicated trading system for every decision they make. Often, what is needed are simple charts, live quotes, account details, and the ability to execute trades efficiently.

The JustMarkets web interface provides these core features through an uncomplicated web platform. New traders may find the platform easy to use, while experienced traders can use the web terminal to trade from wherever they happen to be.

Flexibility as the New Standard

Trading through the browser is part of a broader trend towards multiplatform trading. Traders are beginning to require greater flexibility in how they can access the market, including via desktop, mobile application, or the web.

However, the objective is not to replace other forms of trading altogether; rather, it is to provide greater flexibility to trade at a client’s convenience. For traders who require market access without an installation process, web-based trading offers an alternative platform.

Browser-Based Access Is Becoming Part of the Trader’s Routine

With an increasing number of traders moving across different platforms and seeking to trade faster in the global market, it is quite natural for web-based platforms to form part of the trading experience. JustMarkets has built its platform ecosystem with the provision of CFD instruments via platforms suited to various routines, ranging from desktop and mobile to browser-based platforms.

For the trader, the potential benefits include fewer technical steps, access to charting and order placement, and added convenience when following the forex, commodity, index, stock, and crypto CFD markets.

About JustMarkets

JustMarkets is a global financial CFD trading platform designed to eliminate technical “noise,” enabling investors to focus on what matters most: making accurate decisions. With modern infrastructure and professional services, JustMarkets serves as a reliable partner for CFD traders.

Risk Warning

Trading CFDs involves a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. CFDs are leveraged products and can result in rapid financial loss. Leverage increases market exposure and the potential for losses. Ensure you understand the risks involved before trading.

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SOURCE JustMarkets

Technology

Constellation Cold Logistics (“Constellation”) announced today the appointment of Abhy Maharaj as Chief Executive Officer

Published

14 minutes ago

September 23, 2026

LONDON, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Constellation, a leading platform in European cold storage and logistics, has today announced the appointment of Abhy Maharaj as its next CEO, effective 1 October 2026.

Abhy will succeed the current CEO, Carlos Rodriguez, who will move to the Advisory Board and support Constellation’s M&A strategy.

Constellation Chair Nils S Andersen said: “On behalf of the board I would like to thank Carlos for his visionary leadership of Constellation over the last four years where the company has grown to become a European leader through acquisitions and developing new capacities in cooperation with our customers and market needs. We are delighted that he will join the board and continue to support our journey. Since joining in February 2025 as Chief Commercial Officer, Abhy has demonstrated his qualities in understanding the markets, engaging with customers, as well as leading the transformation and integration work. With his industry experience, he will provide competent leadership of Constellation during the next phase, where focus will continue to be on customer needs, growth opportunities and strengthening the operating platform. The board looks forward to the cooperation under his leadership.”

Carlos Rodriguez said: “I am delighted with Abhy’s appointment. He has proven to be an innovative, collaborative and results focused leader with a track record in growing businesses, transformation and operational excellence, together with automation and technology capabilities. Abhy is best positioned and has the Advisory Board’s full support to successfully implement the company’s strategic plan, I wish Abhy all the best. I would like to thank all Constellation employees for their outstanding support and commitment over the past four years.”

Abhy said: “It is an honour and privilege to succeed Carlos as CEO of Constellation. Thanks to his leadership, Constellation is well positioned for the future with a cohesive culture and sound growth pipeline. As incoming CEO, I am committed to leading the talented and hard-working people who make Constellation a great company and continue to generate long-term value. I look forward to continuing our close collaboration with our customers and suppliers to improve the European cold chain market.”

Before joining Constellation, Abhy held board and executive roles at NewCold Coöperatief, a developer and operator of highly automated cold storage warehousing. Prior to that, he spent 11 years in senior executive positions at Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s largest dairy exporter with sales in 130 countries.

About Constellation: Constellation has become Europe’s leading independent cold storage and logistics provider with a presence in ten European countries, 1.2 million pallet positions of capacity and several expansion projects under implementation. The company is committed to its vision to be Europe’s most trusted logistics partner while maintaining its core values of Trust, Excellence, Entrepreneurship, and One Team.

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