Altavo, a company based in Dresden and Jena, Germany, specializing in AI-based voice rehabilitation, has successfully closed a €5 million Series A funding round.

The funding round was spearheaded by Occident, with significant contributions from Novalis Biotech, Beteiligungsmanagement Thüringen, TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Saxonia Systems Holding, and TUDAG TU Dresden AG.

This influx of capital will be pivotal in accelerating Altavo’s growth trajectory, facilitating further product development, conducting pivotal clinical trials, and supporting international expansion initiatives.

At the helm of Altavo is CEO Rudolf von Bünau, who is leading the charge in developing Artificial Voice, a revolutionary medical device aimed at assisting individuals who have lost their ability to speak, such as those who have undergone laryngectomy or require mechanical ventilation. The company’s proprietary “silent speech” technology, developed in collaboration with Technical University Dresden, harnesses non-invasive radar sensing and cutting-edge neural net architectures.

Altavo’s mission revolves around empowering voiceless individuals to reclaim their natural-sounding voice. Their innovative approach to speech rehabilitation holds immense promise, extending beyond medical applications.

According to Altavo’s vision statement, their non-invasive silent speech technology represents a paradigm shift in speech rehabilitation and holds potential applications in various other fields.

Altavo’s multidisciplinary team comprises experts from diverse backgrounds, including medical device development and marketing, computer science, artificial intelligence, radio frequency engineering, signal processing, speech technology, linguistics, speech therapy, regulatory affairs, and quality management. Together, they are dedicated to translating state-of-the-art technologies into tangible solutions that enhance patients’ quality of life.

Central to Altavo’s technological prowess is RF sensing, which enables visualization inside the vocal tract. Their non-invasive sensor technology detects and characterizes silent articulation movement, while state-of-the-art deep neural networks convert these signals into audible speech in real-time.

Altavo’s strategic partnerships with Technische Universität Dresden, particularly the Chair of Speech Technology and Cognitive Systems and the Chair of Radio Frequency and Photonics Engineering, underscore their commitment to collaborative research and development.

Projects such as “Promise-AI” and “MUSIK,” supported by research grants from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB) respectively, exemplify their dedication to advancing the frontiers of AI-driven voice rehabilitation technology.