The AI startup Respeecher has launched a new text-to-speech service in Ukrainian, designed to overcome the common problem of a "plastic" accent found in many foreign voice platforms. The team at Respeecher announced the development.
This new service converts text into audio in Ukrainian and even Surzhyk, offering a library of voices of different genders, ages, timbres, and tones. Users can select voices tailored for specific tasks: advertising, announcements, audiobooks, or podcasts.
The free version allows for up to 1,500 characters of speech with a limited number of voice changes. The paid version operates on a balance refill model: $2 for 60,000 characters, roughly equivalent to one hour of speech.
Additionally, users can request training for a specific voice model, such as that of an employee or public figure, so that the AI assistant or chatbot can speak in that voice. Companies can integrate the service via API.
"We wanted avatars, chatbots, and AI assistants in Ukrainian banks and telecom companies to finally speak authentic Ukrainian: with all its flexibility, uniqueness, dialects, and even Surzhyk, and most importantly, without the plastic accent that foreign AI services currently use," shared Dmitry Belevtsov, co-founder and CTO of Respeecher.
Respeecher emphasizes ethical considerations: voice cloning is not possible without the owner’s consent. Actors' voices are added to the catalog only with their agreement,
and the company also notes that for ethical reasons, it does not allow cloning someone's voice without consent, and actors receive 25% royalties. All generated audio undergoes moderation to prevent misuse.
The Ukrainian startup Respeecher is well-known for cloning voices for Netflix, HBO, and Paramount. The team has been working with artificial neural networks since 2018 and previously experimented with other accents, recently improving Adrien Brody's Hungarian accent in the Oscar-winning "Brutalist" and rejuvenating the voice of 91-year-old James Earl Jones, who was the voice of Darth Vader in "Obi-Wan Kenobi."
