ROCKY HILL, Conn., March 25, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Connecticut Innovations (CI), Connecticut's strategic venture capital arm and the leading source of financing and ongoing support for Connecticut's innovative, growing companies, today announced that it has closed on the initial $500k tranche of a potential $1.5 million total investment award for Voiceitt, a speech recognition system for non-standard speakers, including those with impaired speech, and the 2018 top investment award winner of VentureClash.
This initial $500,000 equity investment will help Voiceitt accelerate its core speech recognition technology, support marketing efforts in the United States and establish its Connecticut headquarters.
"CI is excited to close this deal with the top investment award winner of VentureClash," said Alison Malloy, director of investments at Connecticut Innovations. "Voiceitt has the chance to enhance and improve the lives of those suffering from voice-altering conditions. We look forward to working with the Voiceitt team as they expand to the United States."
Voiceitt, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, and founded in 2012, has developed a speech recognition technology designed to recognize atypical speech patterns correlated with underlying conditions such as stroke, cerebral palsy and degenerative disease. In addition to facilitating human-to-human voice-based interaction, Voiceitt's technology can help make mainstream voice technologies accessible to people with motor and speech challenges.
"Our team is grateful for VentureClash and Connecticut Innovations as we build our U.S. presence in Connecticut and improve our core speech technology to best address the needs of the people we serve," said Danny Weissberg, CEO of Voiceitt. "We have received a warm welcome and support from stakeholders and advocates in the community. We believe this award conveys the spirit of collaboration that is core to who we are as a company, and it also represents another step closer to realizing the vision we all share: to make speech recognition technologies accessible to everyone."
Last year, VentureClash attracted nearly 300 applicants and culminated with a finals event on Thursday, October 20, 2018, at the Yale School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut. Voiceitt was one of 10 finalists that presented to a broad judging panel of venture capitalists and innovation experts from leading firms.
About VentureClash
Managed by Connecticut Innovations, VentureClash is Connecticut's global venture challenge focused on early-stage companies. The challenge, launched in 2016, identifies high-potential companies in digital health, fintech, insurtech and industry 4.0 that will compete for investments from a $5 million award pool. For more information on qualifications, requirements, guidelines and application for this year's upcoming 2019 challenge, visit http://www.ventureclash.com.
About Connecticut Innovations
Connecticut Innovations (CI) is Connecticut's strategic venture capital arm and the leading source of financing and ongoing support for Connecticut's innovative, growing companies. CI provides venture capital and strategic support for early-stage technology companies, financial support for innovation and collaboration, and connections to its well-established network of partners and professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.ctinnovations.com.
SOURCE Connecticut Innovations
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