voice assistant
The Kia EV3 — the new all-electric compact SUV revealed Thursday — illustrates a growing appetite among global automakers to bring generative AI into their vehicles. The automaker said the…
There have been many attempts at open source AI-powered voice assistants (see Rhasspy, Mycroft and Jasper, to name a few) — all established with the goal of creating privacy-preserving, offline…
After years of fierce brawling, Google Assistant and Alexa are finally playing nicely together. Harman today announced new additions to its JBL Authentics speaker lineup that integrate both Google Assistant…
Google Assistant gets an upgrade on Pixel 7 with voice typing, calling and transcription improvements
Alongside news of its brand-new Pixel 7 smartphone line and Pixel Watch, Google today also announced a number of ways it’s improving the technology running on its new devices, powered…
Skullcandy announced at Amazon’s Alexa live event today that is partnering with Native Voice — a voice service provider for hardware devices — to make multiple voice assistants available on…
Today during an event focused on Alexa developer and partner news, Amazon announced new features and integrations, including a collection of APIs and software development kits (SDKs) aimed at making…
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Why SoundHound is valued at 5 Shazams
To find out why voice AI company SoundHound is set to go public via a SPAC at a nearly $2.1 billion valuation, let’s have a closer look at its history, and the case for its double unicorn valuation.
After already targeting verticals like hotels and apartment complexes, Amazon announced today it’s now rolling out new solutions for healthcare providers and senior living centers. The solutions, which are a…
Disney and Amazon partner on a custom voice assistant, ‘Hey, Disney!’ and Echo rollout to Walt Disney World Resort hotels
Amazon, for the first time, is making another voice assistant available on Echo devices. The company at its fall event today announced a new voice assistant, “Hey, Disney,” developed by…
“Conversational AI” startup PolyAI, based out of London, has raised $14 million in a funding round led by Silicon Valley’s Khosla Ventures, with participation from existing investors (Point72 Ventures, Amadeus…
The voices on Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant and others still lack the rhythms and intonation that make speech human. NVIDIA has unveiled new tools that can capture those natural speech…
The European Union has been digging into the competition implications of AI-powered voice assistants and other Internet of Things (IoT) connected technologies for almost a year. Today it’s put out…
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The battle for voice recognition inside vehicles is heating up
Once a feature only for luxury vehicles, voice recognition has moved into the mainstream as manufacturers promise a seamless connection between vehicles, homes and personal devices.
In 2019, Spotify began testing a hardware device for automobile owners it lovingly dubbed “Car Thing,” which allowed Spotify Premium users to play music and podcasts using voice commands that…
Apple is adding two new voices to Siri’s English offerings, and eliminating the default “female voice” selection in the latest beta version of iOS. This means that every person setting…
The voice assistant that can personalize podcasts and help listeners search, sample and discover content through shareable bite-sized pieces will win the voice wars.
The goal of Sight Tech Global, a virtual, global event on December 2-3, 2020, is to gather the world’s top experts who are applying advanced technologies, notably AI, to the…
Cortana may have failed as a virtual assistant for consumers, but Microsoft is still betting on it (or at least its brand) for business use cases, now that it has…
Amazon wants to bring Alexa to property managers. The company this morning launched a new service, Alexa for Residential, that aims to make it easier for property managers to set…
Amazon revamps its Alexa app to focus on first-party features, more personalization
After launching a number of new developer tools for Alexa last week, Amazon today is introducing an updated version of its Alexa mobile app for consumers. The new app aims…
Pandora is launching interactive voice ads into wider public testing, the company announced this morning. The music streaming service first introduced the new advertising format, where users verbally respond to…
Teaser images and leaked photos of the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class suggested the automaker was moving toward a more digital-centric interior. That might have been an understatement. Mercedes-Benz revealed Monday its…
Amazon is making it easier for mobile users to access its Alexa virtual assistant while on the go. The company announced today it’s making it possible to use Alexa “hands…
BBC releases first beta of its Beeb voice assistant to UK Windows Insider members
Back in August 2019, the BBC made some waves with the news that it was developing a voice assistant called Beeb, an English language “Alexa” of its own that could…
Amazon is no longer content trying to dominate the home. The ecommerce giant made several announcements Monday ahead of CES 2020 that target the car, including partnerships with Lamborghini and…
Rivian will integrate Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa into the R1T pickup and R1S SUV, the company’s first electric vehicles that are set to debut at the end of the year.…
When it comes to smart home stuff, once you start, it’s hard to stop. As soon as you’ve got one light that you can turn on and off from your…
At its annual Dreamforce mega-conference in San Francisco, Salesforce today introduced the next steps in its Einstein Voice project, which it first announced last year. Einstein Voice is the company’s…
At Microsoft’s Ignite conference this month, the company announced a new vision for its personal productivity assistant, Cortana — one which aimed to make it more useful in your day-to-day…
