Amazon.com acquires Polish speech-recognition firm Ivona Software

Amazon.com Inc. the world's largest Internet retailer, yesterday acquired Poland-based speech-recognition firm Ivona Software, for an undisclosed sum.

Gdynia, Poland-based Ivona develops text-to-speech technology for use in the voice user interfaces on mobile devices, computers, communication systems and services and is similar to Apple Inc's Siri voice-based search software.

The company offers voice and language portfolios with 44 voices in 17 languages and claims that it has more in development.

Its product portfolio includes a wide range of text-to-speech solutions for consumers, developers who want to incorporate text-to-speech into their user interfaces, and business customers from a variety of industries, including accessibility, public announcement/transportation, telecommunications, e-learning and others.

Ivona's technology already supports several features on Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet computers, including Text-to-Speech, Voice Guide and Explore by Touch,said Dave Limp, vice president, Amazon Kindle.

Ivona also works with organisations that support visually impaired people, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the Daisy Consortium - a global consortium of organizations committed to developing equitable access to information for people who have a print disability.

For more than ten years, the Ivona team has been focused on creating innovative text-to-speech technologies,'' said Lukasz Osowski, CEO and co-founder of IVONA. ''We are all thrilled that Amazon is supporting our growth so that we can continue to innovate and deliver exceptional voice and language support for our customers.''

''Ivona's exceptional text-to-speech technology leads the industry in natural voice quality, accuracy and ease of use. Ivona is already instrumental in helping us deliver excellent accessibility features on Kindle Fire, including Text-to-Speech, Voice Guide and Explore by Touch,'' said Dave Limp.