According to Cnet, users of the Speechify app can input any voice they like for the artificial intelligence (AI) to “mimic,” creating audiobooks in their preferred reading style.
Audiobooks are increasingly attracting more users. According to the Audio Publishers Association (APA), 2023 marks the twelfth consecutive year of growth in the audiobook market, with total revenue around $2 billion for the year. The APA report also indicated that 52% of adults in the U.S. have listened to an audiobook, equivalent to about 150 million people.
Audiobooks are increasingly attracting more users.
Generative AI is undeniably influencing nearly every field, with countless businesses striving to harness this technology. The seven-year-old company Speechify is focusing on using human voices generated by AI, utilizing text-to-speech technology as an alternative to traditional audiobooks.
Having struggled with dyslexia, Speechify CEO Cliff Weitzman often relied on his parents to read books to him when he was young. When he reached college, he was unable to find an audiobook version of his textbooks.
This motivation led him to combine deep learning methods—AI techniques that help computers process data like the human brain—with text-to-speech tools to create a reading program for himself. As a Hebrew speaker, Weitzman incorporated a speed adjustment feature to practice his English listening skills.
In 2018, Weitzman’s brother Tyler joined as a co-founder of Speechify and has served as the AI director and president since 2022. Tyler Weitzman helped develop the algorithm that later became the first version of Speechify.
This algorithm was trained on over 100,000 hours of audio to make the voice sound human-like. Subsequently, the company collaborated with celebrities to use their voices.
Speechify can read books, documents, and text on mobile devices. Users can upload PDF files to the web app, which will add audio to the phone app. Additionally, users can download a Chrome extension to listen to text from Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox.
The free version of Speechify offers six voice options and a maximum speed of 1x. Speechify Premium, priced at $11.67 per month, includes more than 250 voice options in over 50 languages, with a maximum speed of up to 4.5x.
Cliff Weitzman stated that Speechify currently has 40 million users. According to reports, this startup raised $4.5 million in an early funding round in 2020.
