First European speech group unveils new name: Acapela Group.

Following the merger in January of Europe's major speech players Babel Technologies, Elan Speech and Babel Infovox, the newly formed company has now unveiled its corporate name, Acapela Group. Totally focused on voice interface solutions, Acapela Group becomes the one-stop supplier hitherto missing from a somewhat over-orchestrated market. Hence the name.

An unprecedented consolidation in European speech technologies
Acapela is a strategic alliance of technologies that make sense together - Automatic Speech Recognition and Text-to-Speech - and the highly experienced staffs that made them possible. But more than that, Acapela Group is a timely response to what many industries and application developers the world over have long hoped for: a global resource of concentrated speech technology skills and talent in a human-dimensioned organisation. Acapela people are ready and available to apply their unmatched experience to explore Speech solutions across all fields of industrial and human activity. And the list is infinite.

Applying Acapela to applications
Speech applictions will increasingly penetrate into environments that can benefit from hands-free eyes-free operation; while the growth of network-based information services, messaging and edutainment, or the demand for personalised real-time services, is highly promising. To meet this demand, Acapela is geared to consolidate its strong positions in the Telecom, Automotive and Accessibility sectors through a proactive strategy across these mature markets. In the Multimedia, Consumer Electronics, Mobility and Industrial segments Acapela will be applying an aggressively reactive market approach in seeking opportunities to bring customers enhanced value-added applications.

Leading from the starting blocks
Acapela is presently N°1 supplier of vocal technologies to the European, Middle East and Nordic markets. These leadership positions owe much to the confidence our customers and partners have placed in our technologies and service offers: Alcatel, Alva, Atos Origin, Bo Jo Tveter, Bosch Blaupunkt, Daimler Chrysler, Franklin Electronic Publishers, Harman Becker, Intervoice, Magneti Marelli, Navigation Technologies, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Telia, Temic, Texas Instruments, Tieman, Toby Churchill, Scandis, Siemens, etc.