The AI startup Respeecher has introduced a new text-to-speech service in Ukrainian, aimed at addressing the "robotic" accent common in many foreign voice platforms. The Respeecher team announced this development.
The service transforms text into audio in Ukrainian and even Surzhyk, offering a library of voices varying in gender, age, timbre, and tone. Users can select a voice suitable for their needs: advertising, announcements, audiobooks, or podcasts.
The free version allows voice synthesis for up to 1,500 characters with a limited number of voice variations. The paid version operates on a balance recharge model: $2 for 60,000 characters, roughly equivalent to one hour of audio.
Additionally, users can request training for a specific voice model, such as that of an employee or public figure, allowing the AI assistant or chatbot to speak in that voice. Companies can access integration via API.
"We wanted avatars, chatbots, and AI assistants for banks and telecoms in Ukraine to finally speak authentic Ukrainian: with all its flexibility, uniqueness, dialects, and without the robotic accent typical of foreign AI services," shares Dmitry Belevtsov, co-founder and CTO of Respeecher.
Respeecher emphasizes ethics: cloning a voice is not possible without the owner's consent. Actors' voices are added to the catalog only with their permission.
The company also highlights that for ethical reasons, they do not allow cloning of a person's voice without consent, and actors receive 25% royalties. All generated audio undergoes moderation to prevent misuse.
Ukrainian startup Respeecher is known for voice cloning for Netflix, HBO, and Paramount. Since 2018, the team has been working with artificial neural networks and has previously interacted with other accents, recently improving Adrien Brody's Hungarian accent in the Oscar-winning "The Pianist" and rejuvenating the voice of 91-year-old James Earl Jones, who voiced Darth Vader in "Obi-Wan Kenobi."