Roblox acquires AI voice moderation start-up Speechly
Helsinki-based company aims to evolve voice technology for user-generated content platforms
Roblox has acquired Speechly, a Finnish AI start-up specialising in voice moderation technology, for an undisclosed amount.
Speechly's technology will be used to improve the platform's voice chat service, which was introduced in 2021.
Ahead of the acquisition, Speechly was backed by Y Combinator and raised €2 million in a seed funding round in 2019 led by Berlin's Cherry Ventures, TechCrunch reported.
"We are excited to be joining a company dedicated to safety and civility and to use our AI expertise to evolve traditional methods of moderation to meet the scale, real-time and dynamic needs of a user-generated content (UGC) platform," wrote Speechly co-founder Hannes Heikinheimo in a blog post.
He added: "We want to thank the developers who have trusted Speechly for voice moderation needs, and our friends, family and customers who have been with us through this journey."
Robox laid off 30 employees from its talent acquisition team last week as it focuses on improving its current business instead of expanding further.
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