Meet Hollywood’s favorite AI tool that’s taking an ethical approach to voice cloning

While Russia invaded Ukraine, Respeecher was relocating team members from regions under attack — and still building the AI voice technology that Hollywood trusts to clone everyone from Darth Vader to Elvis. The TechNexus portfolio company's story is one of resilience, ethics, and technical excellence.

TechNexus-backed Respeecher has cloned everyone from Darth Vader to Elvis through its AI voice tool, all while building its tech amid the war in Ukraine. Credit: Unsplash In 2022, as Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian startup Respeecher was relocating its team members from regions that were under attack while missiles and drones flew overhead. Amid the air raid sirens, the AI voice startup’s sound engineer was also sending audio files across the world to Lucasfilm from inside a bomb shelter. It’s emblematic of the resolve Respeecher’s team has shown in the face of war, CEO and founder Alex Serdiuk said. Beyond the devastating threat caused by the war– family and friends of some Respeecher employees were victims of the conflict, Serdiuk said–it also presented a serious threat to its business. Blackouts and other infrastructure disruptions made work a challenge, and the company needed contingency plans as the invasion was underway. “We have plans B, C and D in place for electricity, internet connection, and for our ability to work," Serdiuk said. “It’s just extremely hard. It’s another layer of complications and challenges.” Despite those challenges, Respeecher, whose early investors include TechNexus and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, has managed to land blue-chip customers who’ve gravitated to its AI voice cloning technology. Disney and Lucasfilm partnered with the startup to recreate the voice of James Earl Jones’s Darth Vader for its Obi-Wan Kenobi series, making Jones sound like his character from 45 years ago. It also used Respeecher to recreate a young Luke Skywalker for Disney+’s The Book of Boba Fett . Respeecher has developed a close relationship with Hollywood since it launched in 2018. Its voice technology is used in Netflix productions, including the movies Paradise and NYAD . It recreated Wilt Chamberlain’s voice in the Showtime project Goliath , and it was used to bring the voice of Robert Calvert, the frontman of Hawkwind, back to life in t

By Jim Dallke at TechNexus Venture Collaborative