SLNG.ai raises €3.3M to build global voice AI infrastructure to challenge US dominance
SLNG.ai, a speech infrastructure startup, has secured €3.3 million in pre-seed funding to challenge the existing US-dominated voice technology landscape. This funding, led by Earlybird VC, highlights Europe's ambition to foster independent and globally-focused digital solutions. The initiative signals a push for digital sovereignty, allowing European developers to build voice-enabled applications without being entirely reliant on US-centric platforms. SLNG.ai's platform provides a unified infrastructure that integrates multiple speech models and supports global deployment with regional compliance. Founded by Ismael Ordaz and Luke Miller, the Spain-based company directly addresses key limitations such as regional compute deficiencies, a lack of industry-specific models, compliance barriers, and latency issues. The platform is designed to be model-agnostic, supporting various speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and voice cloning models via a single API, allowing developers to avoid vendor lock-in. The implications of SLNG.ai's approach are significant for developers, startups, and enterprises seeking to deploy voice AI globally. The platform's developer-first design offers SDKs and APIs for rapid integration. Furthermore, the platform's capability to operate in over 20 regions and meet strict data residency requirements opens up possibilities for regulated industries like healthcare, finance, and government. SLNG.ai's approach focuses on building a voice AI ecosystem that is truly global, compliant, and developer-centric, addressing the limitations of existing, predominantly US-centric, voice AI solutions. This investment represents a notable step towards fostering a more diverse and competitive landscape in the global voice technology market, underscoring the potential for European-led innovation.
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