Five different french audio startups explain what their companies’ missions are as they’re interviewed at the Vivatech 2021 mega-conference in Paris, France.

One french company that stood out was Cogneed, which focuses on the power of AI specifically when it comes to Inside Sales, Customer Care & Sales Development Reps, assisting them with dynamic display of relevant information, triggered by audio detection.

Then comes Storyfox, a video interview tool that companies can use to create structured interviews using templates. This could especially be beneficial for companies that are looking to hire new employees as it makes the process much quicker.

Next, we interview Playplay, an online video editing tool that allows anyone to create videos easily, as videos are the main form of content that users consume. It also has a new feature that can be used to create videos for podcasts including automated motion design and automatic subtitles.

Afterwards, we learn all about Sonup, a startup that’s based in Montpellier. It’s an innovative and reliable solution for healthcare professionals wishing to offer their patients a hearing assessment service. They explain why their solution is important for people with hearing problems.

Last but not least, we get to know Odiho, a company that provides sound to soundless advertising, such as video billboards. People can scan the QR code on the ad to watch the video with sound on their cellphones.

Listen to the full episode to get the answers to all of your burning questions!

Links from the show:

• VivaTech
• Cogneed
• Storyfox
• Playplay
• Sonup
• Odiho

Sponsors:

• Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
• Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25
• Rumble Studio << create your free account

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Hans van Dam is the CEO of Conversation Design Institute, a company that teaches a human-centric workflow to conversation design which has proven itself in organisations around the world. This is Hans’s second appearance on the show, the first one being in episode 51 back in January.

Hans explains what exactly conversation design means and focuses on its importance regarding conversational AI technologies. He shares his vast experience with training conversation designers at CDI, in order to successfully automate conversations in 2021.

CDI’s Conversation Design Festival is coming up on June 15th. Attendees will learn from AI Trainers, Conversation Designers and Conversational Copywriters who will share their professional experiences and give advice on optimizing AI assistants like chatbots and voice assistants.

We hope to see you at the Conversation Design Festival on June 15th. Grab a ticket now using our discount code!

Links from the show:

• Conversation Design Festival << $50 discount code: VOICETECH100
• Become an Expert in Conversation Design << VOICETECH25
• Voice Tech Podcast ep.051
• Hans van Dam’s Youtube channel

Sponsors:

• Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
• Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25
• Rumble Studio << create your free account

Find us here:

• Website
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• carl@voicetechpodcast.com

Jaime Bosch is the co-founder CEO of Voicemod, a massively popular real-time voice manipulation, augmentation & soundboard application for Windows PC. He is joined by Alex Bordanova, Director of Audio Experience at Voicemod.

Based in Valencia, Spain, Voicemod has amassed over 17 million registered users & is the number one choice to create a unique & powerful sonic identity, whether it’s for gaming, content creation, dungeon-mastering, or just hanging out with friends online.

We hear samples of a range of voice changing effects made by Voicemod & discuss the applications of these in various industries. We also dive into the challenges of real-time audio programming & hear about the lessons learned while building this awesome voice startup.

Links from the show:

• Voicemod
• Download Voicemod for free
• Voicemod on Youtube
• Voicemod is hiring! hiring@voicemod.net
• Cyberpunk voicemod pack - ScreenRant
• Dark Vader voice - LifeHacker
• Voicemod raises 8 million - VentureBeat
• Voicemod on Windows Central
• The Golden Rules of Audio Programming, Pete Goodliffe
• Fabian Renn-Giles & Dave Rowland - Real-time 101
• Dave Rowland - Real-time Tradeoffs in Audio Programming
• Valerio Velardo Tutorials

Sponsors:

• Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
• Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25
• Rumble Studio << create your free account

Find us here:

• Website
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Discord
• LinkedIn
• X
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• Patreon
• carl@voicetechpodcast.com

Muddu Sudhakar is the CEO of Aisera, the world’s first solution to use Conversational AI and Conversational RPA to transform the Service Desk in the Enterprise.

We discuss how enterprises are using Aisera’s A.I. to automate and auto-resolve service desk requests from both employees and customers.

Muddu predicts that service desk tools will be used less over the coming years, to be replaced by self-service AI-powered Conversational platforms on collaboration tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack.

Links from the show:

• Aisera
• Aisera Press Releases
• Aisera Case Studies

Sponsors:

• Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
• Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25
• Rumble Studio << create your free account

Find us here:

• Website
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Discord
• LinkedIn
• X
• Reddit
• Patreon
• carl@voicetechpodcast.com

Marco Liuni is the co-founder and audio miner at Alta Voce, a research-backed startup based in Paris, France that shapes the emotions in human and artificial voices to enhance communication.

Their product, Alta Call, is a voice transformation technology for contact centers, improving both the clarity of speech and enhancing the smile in the voice. Marco explains how their tech works, and we hear samples of audio that have been transformed.

We also cover some of the ethical issues of transforming human voice, and how they are tackling this in the product. Marco shares his advice for newcomers to the field of speech transformation, and some of his recommended reading.

Links from the show:

• Alta Voce (alta-voce.tech)
• IRCAM
• Italo Calvino - Invisible Cities
• Reinventing Organisations - Frederic Laloux
• Voice Tech Podcast - Pablo Arias, Smiles in the Voice

Sponsors:

• Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
• Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25
• Rumble Studio << create your free account

Find us here:

• Website
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• YouTube
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• LinkedIn
• X
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• Patreon
• carl@voicetechpodcast.com

Christian Mahnke is CEO of EarReality, which helps some of the biggest companies in the world such as Disney, Audible, and Vox create interactive stories for voice marketing. Their stories are published on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung Bixby and more.

Christian shares some of his best practices for interactive voice writers, including why it's important to write characters that people identify with.

EarReality is set for success with the upcoming launch of Twist, their interactive storytelling tool for voice technology. Find out more by giving this episode a listen!

Recorded asynchronously on Rumble Studio

Links from the show:

• EarReality
• kontakt@ear-reality.de
• Iron Falcon
• LinkedIn l Christian Mahnke
• Amazon Alexa Games Skill Challenge Winners Announced for Europe l Voicebot.ai (1st prize)
• EarReality wants to help storytellers find their voice l Bixby Developers
• Why Obsidian uses AI voices for game development l Sonantic

TWIST - Tutorials

• YouTube Playlist

Sponsors:

• Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
• Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25
• Rumble Studio << Create your podcast for free

Find us here:

• Website
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Discord
• LinkedIn
• X
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• Patreon
• carl@voicetechpodcast.com

Christian Petroske is President of Shoutworks, a new Wordpress plugin that lets you publish content to Amazon Alexa with the push of a button. ShoutWorks lets you send notifications through Amazon Alexa, with a 90 percent plus open rate. This helps publishers grow their audience, get more leads, and boost sales in a few clicks.

In this episode, Christian and host Carl Robinson discuss the Shoutworks Wordpress plugin, what it is, and how it helps you create an Alexa skill in just one click. Christian also discusses why the pandemic is a good time to launch a voice start-up, and what’s currently holding the voice tech industry back.

Christian discusses why his team took a template-first approach, and the benefits to developers and end-users. Voice Tech finds out what Christian believes is holding back the voice industry right now, along with why launching a voice startup during a pandemic is a very smart move! This sophisticated Shoutworks plugin allows smaller publishers to use the content from their blog, and then through the plugin send notifications to Alexa seamlessly.

Until now, this accessibility has only been available to larger publishers, including NPR, Coca-Cola, because megabrands such as these can spend thousands of dollars on creating Alexa skills. This has allowed big-name brands to drive significant traffic to their Wordpress sites via Shoutworks. Shoutworks’ goal is to democratize access to Amazon Alexa. It is super easy to use, and takes away the expensive and time-intensive aspects of building an Alexa skill.

The real problem Shoutworks is solving is for small businesses and entrepreneurs to build an audience and drive engagement over this new voice tech medium. With voice tech, businesses definitely have less competition, and the possibilities for deeper engagement are actually greater. Shoutworks is changing the playing field for smaller publishers with limited resources, opening up new opportunities for massive engagement.

Links from the show:

• Shoutworks.com
• Shoutworks.com/affiliate

Sponsors:

• Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
• Conversation Design Institute << 25% off courses: VOICETECH25
• Digital Assistant Academy << 25% off courses: DAVID25
• World Class Business Leaders EU conference << 30% off tickets: VoiceTech30EU

Find us here:

• Website
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• Spotify
• YouTube
• Discord
• LinkedIn
• X
• Reddit
• Patreon
• carl@voicetechpodcast.com

Simon Landry is the founder of Voice Market Data, a service that makes voice market data more accessible to voice developers. We discover how a macro view of the Alexa marketplace can help us measure app success in different markets, spot new product opportunities and feature ideas, and highlight discoverability issues.

Simon’s extensive academic background has given him a unique ability to unearth rich data, and present it in an accessible format that can be understood by all. This is a fascinating look at the true nature of the Amazon Alexa marketplace and makes for essential listening for all voice app developers and creators.

Links from the show:

• Voice Market Data
• Simon Landry on LinkedIn
• Simon’s book: The Science of Conversational Design
• Simon et Guy Cours en Francais
• Empathy Engine
• Poop Detective Alexa Skill
• Alexa in Canada Podcast with Simon

Sponsors:

• Rumble Studio
• Manning books << 40% off all books code: PODVOICETECH19
• Robocopy Conversation Design Course << 25% off with this link

Find us here:

• Website
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Discord
• LinkedIn
• X
• Reddit
• Patreon
• carl@voicetechpodcast.com