Respeecher is a Ukrainian software company developing speech synthesis software enabling one person to speak in the voice of another particular person using artificial intelligence.
| Industry | AI |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder | Alex Serdiuk, Dmytro Bielievtsov, Grant Reaber |
| Headquarters | , Ukraine |
| Website | www |
History
editRespeecher was founded in February 2018. A year later, the startup completed the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator, powered by Techstars.[1] They received $1.5 million in startup funding in early March 2020.[2]
Since 2018, Respeecher have raised over $3 million in investments and share their technology with Hollywood movie studios, video game creators, and other businesses.[3][4][5] The Respeecher team, most of which is located in Ukraine, was able to continue working despite the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.[6][7]
In December 2020, Respeecher was credited in the season finale of Disney streaming TV series The Mandalorian for synthesizing the voice of young Luke Skywalker.[8][9] In February 2021, they worked on the voice of Vince Lombardi for the Super Bowl commercial.[10]
In September 2021, the Respeecher team was awarded with an Emmy for interactive documentary for their work on Richard Nixon's voice (combined with the dialogue being performed by another actor) in the internet short film "In Event of Moon Disaster".[11][12]
In February 2022, Respeecher was credited in "Chapter 6" of The Book of Boba Fett, for providing the synthetic voice of young Luke Skywalker.[13]
In March 2022, Respeecher enabled multilingual singing voice cloning for Aloe Blacc's tribute to Avicii.[14]
On June 27, 2022, the company created an AI voice for Darth Vader based on actor James Earl Jones's archive recordings from earlier Star Wars projects in the TV series Obi-Wan Kenobi.[15][16][17] Jones signed a deal with Lucasfilm authorizing his voice to be used in this manner for future productions,[18] and subsequently retired from voicing the character later that year.[19]
In November 2022, the first synthetic speech artist was credited in Sony’s video game God of War Ragnarök.[20]
In February 2023, Respeecher, alongside OpenAI and TikTok, was among the initial 10 companies to pledge commitment to the Partnership on AI's community-driven framework. This framework aims to guide the ethical and responsible development, creation, and sharing of synthetic media and AI technology.[21]
In October 2023, CD Projekt 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 expansion Phantom Liberty. They said they had obtained permission from Reczek’s family.[22]
In 2023, the company actively contributed to the development of the "Zvook"[23] - acoustic sensor system, a project endorsed by Brave1, tailored to meet the specific requirements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 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.[24]
In 2024, Respeecher endorsed the NO FAKES Act[25] - 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 technology.
Contribution to creative projects
editFilms
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Alien: Romulus | |
| 2024 | Emilia Pérez | |
| 2023 | Dangerous Waters | |
| 2023 | The Exorcist: Believer | |
| 2019 | In Event of Moon Disaster | Voice of Richard Nixon |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Sunny | |
| 2023 | Neue Geschichten vom Pumuckl | |
| 2023 | Goliath | Voice of Wilt Chamberlain |
| 2022 | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Voice of Darth Vader |
| 2022 | The Book of Boba Fett | Voice of Darth Vader |
| 2020 | The Mandalorian | Voice of Luke Skywalker |
| 2018 | Lost in Space |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty | Voice of Viktor Vektor |
| 2022 | God of War Ragnarök |
Music
edit| Year | Artist | Track | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Riky Rick | "Stronger" | Track created from the late Riky Rick's social media posts[26] |
| 2022 | Aloe Blacc | "Wake Me Up" | A tribut to Avicii performed on multiple languages[27] |
Project awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Project | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Campaign Audio Advertising Awards | Best Use of AI | BBC promo for The Capture | Won |
| 2024 | Cannes Film Festival | 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 | Best Documentary Series | Goliath, a Showtime/Paramount+ documentary series about Wilt Chamberlain | 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's Josh Carrott | Won |
| 2021 | News & Documentary Emmy Awards | Outstanding Interactive Media: Documentary | In Event of Moon Disaster deepfake documentary | Won |
References
edit- ^ Inna (2019-08-07). "Respeecher has joined Techstars Philadelphia · TechUkraine". TechUkraine. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ "Ukrainian "deepfake-for-good" startup Respeecher raises $1.5 million". Tech.eu. 2020-03-04. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Sylvers, Eric (2022-09-13). "Ukrainian Startups Secure Funding Even as War Endures". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ "AI Voice Replication Is Transforming Star Wars And Other Media". Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Moses, Lucia. "9 startups bringing AI tech to Netflix, Lucasfilm, Marvel, and more Hollywood studios — and attracting millions in VC funding". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ "Darth Vader's Voice Emanated From War-Torn Ukraine". Vanity Fair. 2022-09-23. Archived from the original on 2022-09-23. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Katie Wickens (2022-08-23). "Respect to the Ukrainian sound engineer who worked on Star Wars voices between air raid sirens". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Tangcay, Jazz (2022-03-22). "How Ukrainian Company Respeecher De-Aged Mark Hamill's Voice for 'Boba Fett' and 'The Mandalorian'". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Ratcliffe, Amy (2021-08-25). "THE MANDALORIAN Used Voice Cloning Software for Luke Skywalker's Voice". Nerdist. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Haggerty, Charles (2021-03-15). "Lombardi Super Bowl Ad Features Voice Technology by LIFT Labs Alum Respeecher". Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Fiscutean, Andrada (2021-10-21). "Nixon's unheard moon-disaster speech is now a warning about the deepfake future". ZDNET. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Zosia, Wanat (13 Feb 2023). "Colleagues under fire, spooked investors and an Emmy award: Ukrainian founders on a year of war". Sifted. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ Tangcay, Jazz (2022-03-22). "How Ukrainian Company Respeecher De-Aged Mark Hamill's Voice for 'Boba Fett' and 'The Mandalorian'". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Bain, Katie (2022-04-21). "Watch Aloe Blacc Sing 'Wake Me Up' in Three Languages to Honor Fourth Anniversary of Avicii's Death". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Andrew, Scottie (2022-09-26). "James Earl Jones is hanging up his cape as Darth Vader". CNN. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ "Star Wars: James Earl Jones steps back from Darth Vader role". BBC News. 2022-09-26. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Hern, Alex (2022-09-27). "The droids you're looking for: how Ukrainian AI recreated Darth Vader's voice". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
- ^ Breznican, Anthony (September 23, 2022). "Darth Vader's Voice Emanated From War-Torn Ukraine". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ Bell, BreAnna (September 24, 2022). "James Earl Jones Steps Back From Voicing Darth Vader, Signs Off on Using Archived Recordings to Recreate Voice With A.I." Variety. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- ^ Guevara, Renzo (2022-11-11). "God of War Ragnarok Director reveals why Atreus' voice changed". UnGeek. Archived from the original on 2023-05-02. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
- ^ "How to create, release, and share generative AI responsibly". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ Schreier, Jason (2023-10-12). "Video Game Cyberpunk 2077 Uses AI To Replace Deceased Voice Actor". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2023-10-16. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ "Zvook project is a network of acoustic sensors for detecting airborne objects". www.zvook.tech. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
- ^ #Brave1 Система акустичних сенсорів Zvook, retrieved 2024-01-18
- ^ "Respeecher Endorses the NO FAKES Act". www.respeecher.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
- ^ "Resurrecting the Voice of Riky Rick". www.respeecher.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
- ^ "Respeecher Helps Aloe Blacc Pay Tribute to Avicii and Sing 'Wake Me Up' in Five Languages". www.respeecher.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.