SVOX AG is an embedded speech technology company founded in 2000 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Company’s products include Automated Speech Recognition (ASR), Text-to-Speech (TTS) and Speech Dialog systems, with customers mostly being manufacturers and system integrators in automotive and mobile device industries.

SVOX was started by researchers at Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( ETH Zurich) and first focused exclusively on Speech Output (TTS) solutions for automotive industry. Later, as the market for Personal Navigation Devices and smartphones developed, the company started to supply those markets as well. In parallel, SVOX has branched into Speech Recognition and Speech Dialog. As part of that process the company acquired Professional Speech Processing Group of Siemens AG in early 2009.

SVOX products include Automated Speech Recognition (ASR), Text-to-Speech (TTS) and Speech Dialog systems. Typical uses include:

• destination entry and turn-by-turn voice directions in navigation systems;
• voice dialing and caller ID announcement in mobile phones and in-car telematics systems;
• Point of Interest (POI) output and traffic information in navigation systems (PND and in-car).

Company’s speech products are especially popular with German car makers such as Audi, Porsche, BMW, Daimler and VW and are often found in premium cars.

Most recently SVOX made headlines with news that Google has chosen to include company’s TTS solution into the next release of Android platform. First mobile phones based on this release are expected to reach the market in autumn 2009.

• Acapela Group [1]
• IBM [2]
• Loquendo [3]
• Nuance [4]