Edinburgh-based tech firm Speech Graphics has raised $7 million in funding to build its audio-based animation technology.

Speech Graphics’ tech enables virtual avatars to move in conjunction with the users’ in real time.

The accelerated growth of Speech Graphics (catalysed by the mass adoption of hybrid working-enabling technology) has led to the creation of a new enterprise-facing brand – Rapport.

Speech Graphics launched with a proprietary technology that would map the nuances in voice performances to detailed models of the muscle systems involved in speech, to automate the production of highly accurate and believable facial animation.

As well as saving studios time, effort, and money in creating dialogue, the tech was extrapolatable to allow for more immersive gaming experiences. Lauded Lord of the Rings, lore-adjacent action RPG, Shadow of Mordor, was the first game to utilize Speech Graphics technology, with games such as Gears of War 4 + 5, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil Village (pictured) and many more having also gone on to use the tech.

“Our success working in the entertainment and gaming industry was what led to conversations with brands searching for real-time, enterprise-level applications of facial animation technology,” says CTO Michael Berger.

“But facial animation is a complicated task,” he adds. “It requires in-house expertise that many companies do not have the capability or resources for. Audio processing, real-time facial motion synthesis, low-latency streaming, 3D visualization, and more are needed to create the AI interactions these brands are looking for.”

Speech Graphics’ subsidiary Rapport removes those technical barriers and enables companies and developers to create digital characters, powered by real-time facial animation.

Recommended

• AdTech startup Good-Loop raises £4.5m to accelerate US expansion
• Edinburgh robotics startup raises $4.8m in funding
• Could technology be the key to tackling ‘spoofed calls’?

Hofer concludes, “The metaverse, VR, and AR will increasingly rely on authentic digital representations of individuals as well as brands. Rapport is the platform that empowers organizations to do that at scale.”

Features of Rapport include the ability to integrate a talking avatar into any website using just a few lines of JavaScript. Developers can access AI, text to speech, and automatic speech recognition for specific verticals. And they can scale the tech to millions of users using proprietary browser rendering technology and flexible backend systems.

Developers can also animate an infinite amount of different avatars, from photoreal humans to stylized characters and anthropomorphic animals.

Get the latest news from DIGIT direct to your inbox

Our newsletter covers the latest technology and IT news from Scotland and beyond, as well as in-depth features and exclusive interviews with leading figures and rising stars.

To subscribe, click here.