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INTERNATIONAL AGENTS Amajor challenge and frustration in global communications, even when people are speaking in the same language, is understanding an unfamiliar accent. The accent mismatch situation can become a major inefficiency in business and risks serious misunderstandings. To foster seamless communication in all areas of business, education, telemed- icine, entertainment and more, Sanas has rolled out what it calls “the world’s first real-time speech accent translation technology.” The solution will be used by seven business process outsourcers globally in the fall of this year. The company also announced its $5.5 million seed round of funding to be used to expand the engineering team and to introduce the software into more global markets. With no noticeable lag and edge deployment, the patent-pending Sanas software intercepts audio and converts accents through a speech-to-speech approach, building a virtual bridge between the audio device and the computer, and then sending the new signal to whichever communication app (Zoom, Hangouts, etc.) is in use. Instant- ly, the accent of a customer care repre- sentative, for example, will be matched to the accent of an incoming caller. “The world has shrunk, and people are doing business globally, while at the same time they have real difficulty understanding each other. Even getting Google Home or Alexa to under- stand accents accurately is extremely important,” said Sanas CEO, Maxim Serebryakov. “Digital communication is critical for our daily lives. Sanas is striv- ing to make communication easy and free from friction, so people can speak confidently and understand each other, wherever they are and whoever they are trying to communicate with.” Sanas was created by a team of Stanford student engineers and top speech machine learning experts. The first application for the technology is in custom- er care centers, an industry where accent issues can be particularly problematic. Research by external sources revealed that by eliminating the accent barrier, companies enjoy increased customer satisfaction, sales and communication efficiency. Top venture funds investing in the company’s $5.5 million seed round include Human Capital, General Catalyst, Quiet Capital, and DN Capital. Speech industry veterans joining Sanas’ Board of Advisors include Wendell Brown (co-founder, Liveops, Teleo, eVoice) and Steven G. Chambers (former president of Nuance). Sanas Launches Real-Time Accent Translation Technology 54 CHANNEL V ISION | Fall 2021 Connect to six decades of experience. Blackfoot Carrier Services Seattle Noxon Kalispell Missoula Hamilton Great Falls Helena Butte Anaconda Bozeman Billings Townsend Forsyth St. Anthony American Falls Dubois Sheridan Casper Worland Gillette Riverton Sundance To Chicago To Chicago Denver Cheyenne Diverse, redundant network routes. Blackfoot Communications is your trusted carrier network operator. Using industry best practices, we can meet stringent SLAs. We can also leverage fiber and RF to accommodate topography and time-to-market needs. 30,000+ service locations. 866-541-5000 | blackfootcarrierservices.com