Introduction to Krisp’s New Feature

Krisp, an audio startup, has announced the launch of a new feature that utilizes AI to modify a user’s accent during calls. Initially, the feature will support the conversion of Indian English accents to U.S. English accents.

How the Feature Works

According to the startup, the accent conversion process preserves the speaker’s voice while switching phonemes to match American accents. This feature has been tested in enterprise environments and is now available in beta on the Krisp desktop app. Users have the option to enable the feature at any time during or before calls.

Inspiration Behind the Feature

Arto Minasyan, co-founder of Krisp, stated that the idea for the feature arose from his personal experience with accent-related communication barriers. “Many people struggle to understand my accent, despite my proficiency in English. We believed that changing accents could significantly improve mutual understanding. We began working on this problem two years ago, and now we’re releasing it in beta,” Minasyan explained.

Testing the Feature

However, when this reporter tested the feature, the processed voice lacked naturalness and occasionally missed words. The company attributed these issues to the beta release, assuring that the model would improve over time.

Enterprise Testing and Results

Krisp claims that when the feature was tested with enterprises, sales conversion rates increased by 26.1%, and revenue per book jumped by 14.8%.

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Future Plans and Accent Support

The company chose to focus on Indian accents first due to the significant presence of individuals from the country in the global STEM workforce. Plans are underway to add support for more accents, including Filipino.

Similar Technology Deployment

Other startups, such as GV-backed Sanas, have successfully deployed similar technology in call centers on a large scale.

Model Training and Data Usage

Krisp trained the model using thousands of speech samples covering various accents and dialects, utilizing data from its meeting assistant after obtaining user consent.

Real-Time Profile Creation

Minasyan highlighted that another advantage of the feature is its ability to create a speaker profile in real-time, eliminating the need for pre-training on a user’s voice.

Upcoming Releases and Integrations

Krisp, which last raised capital in 2021, plans to release iOS and Android apps this year to support in-person meetings. Additionally, a new Chrome extension is in development to enhance integration with Google Meet.