Spotify is acquiring the company Sonantic, which works with artificial intelligence focused on voice, with the aim of expanding its scope in the market and in audio technologies – and even in other potential businesses. That’s because the London-based startup built a mechanism capable of recreating realistic human voices from texts —and the ability of this technology, by the way, is on display in the hit “Top Gun: Maverick”, where it was used to recreate the voice of actor Val Kilmer.
In real life, the 1980s movie heartthrob can no longer speak properly due to throat cancer. But as his presence was indispensable in the sequel released more than 30 years after the original, the feature was fundamental to give all the expected presence of the actor.
The transaction values have not yet been disclosed. But Sonantic raised less than $3 million in funding from investors at several companies recently. In addition, Spotify told TechCrunch that it had been eyeing the startup’s technology for some time.
“We are very excited about the potential to bring Sonantic’s AI voice technology to the Spotify platform and create new experiences for our users,” said Ziad Sultan, vice president of personalization at Spotify in a statement. “This integration will allow us to engage users in a new and even more personalized way.”
Among the possibilities for using the resources, Spotify highlights that it could bring more recommendations and Audio-based descriptions for users not looking directly at their screens —such as for those who are driving or using the app in the background while doing other activities.
And you, what potential do you see in this acquisition? Leave your impressions!
