From Whisper to Voice: Real-Time on-Device Assistive AI Technology for Human Connectionbroad
Whispp · Horizon Europe grant · 2026-06-01–2028-05-31
EC contribution
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Beneficiaries
About the data
Source: CORDIS (official EU open data), Horizon Europe. Framework HORIZON · call HORIZON-EIC-2025-ACCELERATOR-02 · scheme HORIZON-EIC-ACC · topic HORIZON-EIC-2025-ACCELERATOR-02-OPEN-01. CORDIS record →
Objective
Voice disabilities resulting from devastating diseases such as throat cancer as well as severe stuttering affect people’s ability to naturally communicate, seriously impacting the daily lives of millions of people all around the world. In total, worldwide, ~300 million people grapple with such issues. The repercussions are profound, affecting daily life, work, and overall happiness. This challenge is due to a range of conditions from neurological disorders to the aftermath of surgery or trauma. These conditions significantly hinder personal, educational, and professional communication. Studies show that individuals with such impairments often experience social withdrawal, anxiety, and underemployment, particularly in roles where verbal fluency is essential.Research and clinical observation have shown that whispering can significantly reduce stuttering while allowing for a more relaxed speech for people suffering from voice disabilities. In specific, stuttering reduces up to 85% while whispering.Whispp is a Dutch startup that has been honoured as one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2024 and received the CES Innovation Award in the Accessibility & Aging Tech category. We have developed a novel technology that converts voiceless speech signals as input into natural, voiced speech. To do so, we leverage our unique and proprietary real-time assistive voice AI technology which utilizes a W2S (Whisper to Speech) algorithm that interprets audio waveforms into acoustic units prior to converting them into voices with satisfactory intelligibility and prosody.Our AI is optimized to run directly on-device allowing for ultra-low latency (<50ms vs. up to 4 sec of SoA), enhanced privacy, and offline usability—especially critical in mobile, wearable, and safety-critical applications. Besides, our technology is language-agnostic, directly operating on acoustic signal rather than relying on language-specific models, enabling seamless support across different languages/dialects.
Beneficiaries (1)
| Organisation | Country | Role | EC contribution | SME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHISPP BV | NL | coordinator | €2,498,319 | Yes |
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