Israeli Voice Tech Startup Chosen For Amazon Alexa Accelerator

VoiceItt, an Israeli startup that creates speech recognition for people with brain injuries, strokes, mental disabilities and other potential speech impairments, has been chosen by Amazon and Techstars to participate in the Alexa Accelerator, a 12-week program in Seattle now in its second year, the companies announced Thursday, according to VentureBeat.

VoiceItt will participate in the accelerator with eight other companies in a three-month-long program that ends in a Demo Night in October, where all companies will present their business to venture capitalists and investors.

The accelerator helps early-stage companies developing voice-based tech and gives Amazon a stake in the businesses. The companies have access to Amazon employees and more than 100 mentors from Seattle’s conversational AI community.

Techstars, the company that powers the accelerator, told VentureBeat that many of its members from last year’s accelerator program went on to raise a combined $10 million in funding.

The accelerator is paid for by the $200 million Alexa Fund.

Other companies taking part in the Alexa Accelerator include AI-powered DNA and genomics startup Helix, language startup Jargon, interactive games startup Unruly Studios, water conservation important firm Conservation Labs, business texting startup Presence AI, interactive print startup Novalia, AI business platform Imgageous, and Blutag, a voice platform for Alexa Skills and Google Assistant.

VoiceItt, which was founded in 2012 and is known best for its Automatic Speech Recognition technology (ASR), was recognized last year by WeWork, the co-working space giant founded by Israeli Adam Neuman, at the WeWork Creator Awards, where it received a $72,000 prize.