Have you ever wondered where business founders discover the inspiration for their companies? For Joris Castermans, CEO of Whispp, all it took was a look at his own life.
Growing up with a moderate severe stutter, young Joris often felt socially isolated. He found it difficult to make friends and struggled with seemingly simple tasks such as making phone calls. So what did he do? He came up with a solution: Whispp.
What does Whispp do?
Whispp is an assistive voice technology app that uses artificial intelligence to convert whispered and affected speech into a clear, natural-sounding voice. It allows users to make phone calls through the app, while converting their whispers or affected voice into their natural-sounding voice, complete with the right intonation and emotion.
“It was originally intended for people who stutter severely,” Joris explains, “because they tend to speak fluently when they whisper.” Over time, Whispp has expanded its reach beyond this initial idea, and today, it caters to a much broader audience, including people with voice disabilities as well as those who may have lost their voice due to illness, trauma, or old age.
How dit Whispp get started?
“The starting point was the insight I had because I stutter myself; I wanted to see how I could use the positive effects of whispering to my advantage,” Joris recalls. “I got in touch with an IT company that was interested in AI, so we wrote a joint grant proposal. At that time, we also hired a very good AI Master student from the University of Amsterdam – and we got to work.”
After Whispp launched as a simple website, interest in it quickly grew beyond the stuttering community. “Soon many people with voice disorders contacted me: people with throat cancer, vocal cord paralysis, spasmodic dysphonia – there are a lot of voice disorders where the vocal cords no longer function, or have been removed,” Joris explains. In the following years, Whispp received grants, innovation loans, investment funds, worldwide press coverage – and won even more grants. Today Whispp‘s team is made up of nine people, and the technology behind it, which started as a simple website, is now its own app.
What about the promising student from the UvA? His name is Akash Raj, and he’s now the company’s Chief Technology Officer!
What role did PLNT play in Whispp’s Startup Story?
“I’ve been with PLNT since I started my journey with Whispp – because I live in Leiden and really wanted to use my bike to get to the office,” Joris laughs. “I wanted to be part of the Leiden ecosystem and feel the connection between where I live and where I work – and I definitely do now.”
When asked if he gained anything from his time at PLNT, Joris does not hesitate, “Yes!”
“First of all, the positive vibe of being here, having lunch with my team – and really just the inspiring ecosystem of PLNT.” For example, “our software engineer, Thom, originally worked here at MIDI and is now one of our core team members, all thanks to PLNT.” Second, “when it comes to fundraising, we have benefited a lot from PLNT thanks to our collaboration with Leiden University. Leiden University helped us through that first, really difficult funding phase – and that really had a lot of impact.”
How does Whispp help people?
“I think that speaks for itself,” Joris laughs. And indeed it does – literally. By giving those who need it their voice back, Whispp breaks down communication barriers and empowers individuals with speech disabilities to communicate confidently.
“We just want to help people who have an affected voice or severe stuttering to be themselves again and express themselves.” In doing so, Whispp not only have a meaningful real-work impact, but also inspires empathic innovation in assistive technology, and makes significant steps towards a more inclusive world.
What’s in store for Whispp’s future?
“Being a startup is obviously very cool, but having a global reach is hard,” Joris laughs. “My biggest dream is to help the 300 million people who need it.” One day, Joris hopes that his technology can be a fixed part of our devices, and help those who lost their voice.
“I envision Whispp as an integrated feature on your laptop or your phone, where those who need it can simply select the Whispp microphone instead of the normal one.” In their quest for growth, the Whispp team is always on the move, expanding their network at industry events and looking to connect with industry experts.
Word is they recently crossed paths with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at CES in Las Vegas – and are now in touch with the Microsoft accessibility team! The future looks promising for Whispp as they continue to hustle and make waves in the industry – and we’re excited to see where their journey will take them.