A Belfast-based start-up that has developed lip-reading technology has secured $1m in funding as it prepares to bring its visual speech recognition (VSR) platform to market.
The funding for Liopa was led by its initial backers, Techstart NI, and QUBIS – which will enable it to commercialise the LipRead platform and actively market it for global use.
Liopa's latest investors include the AI Seed Fund which exclusively supports start-ups that harness artificial intelligence to create pioneering tech solutions. The funding round was also supported by Co-Fund NI which is managed by Clarendon Fund Managers.
Developed following ten years of research by the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's University, LipRead uses the camera on a smartphone or tablet to analyse lip movement and decipher words and phrases.
LipRead's primary function will be improving the accuracy of commonly used voice-driven assistants (such as Siri, Cortana or Alexa) and voice activated applications in noisy environments such as vehicles, offices and factories.
Liopa is led by seasoned entrepreneurs Liam McQuillan and Richard McConnell. Together they have been involved in the creation of several Northern Irish tech start-up companies.Dr Darryl Stewart and Dr Fabian Campbell-West, authorities in VSR and computer vision, are also part of the Liopa team and have spearheaded the research behind LipRead.
Liam McQuillan said: "Voice is forecast to overtake the keyboard and mouse as the primary means of interacting with mobile and computing applications.
"The big stumbling block however is the accuracy of current voice technologies in real world environments – commands get misinterpreted frequently due to background noise. LipRead will augment current technologies and provide this much needed accuracy, thus ensuring the success of the 'Voice UI'.
Hal Wilson of Techstart NI added: "Liopa brings together great technology, a strong team and an exciting market opportunity This latest funding round marks a significant step forward and will support the team's plans to bring the LipRead technology to market.”
John Spindler, general partner at AI Seed, said Liopa was a great example of a "team with a pedigree of research tackling challenges in visual speech recognition using the latest advances in machine learning".
Co-Fund NI and TechStart NI were established by Invest NI as part of its Access to Finance strategy and are part funded by ERDF under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020.
