Voice changers are becoming integral to how a new generation of users communicate in gaming, streaming and other online spaces.
Founded in 2014, Spanish company Voicemod lets game players distort or change their voice or use sounds to enhance their communication line and have fun with friends while they're on Discord or while gaming on Twitch, Discord, Roblox or FaceTime.
It allows users to change their voice characteristics in real-time, such as pitch and distortion, while adding effects like reverb and delay. This occurs instantly as users speak into their microphones. Users can choose from human and realistic voices besides fantasy, funny, spooky, and musical voices. It's a popular tool in role-playing games (RPGs) and other real-time entertainment.
To learn more, I spoke to Alex Bordanova, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Voicemod.
Unleash your inner voice
As an audio engineer himself, Bordanova says, "I've been around for enough time to understand there's a lot of power in the audio layer, in the voice.
"We always run in the second position, just after the visual side in games. But the industry — and the audience — is willing to spend more on their experience, especially peripherals like headsets and microphones and software like Voicemod."
Since its founding, Voicemod has garnered over 40 million downloads and millions of monthly users, including gamers, streamers, content creators, and those simply wanting to find their voice online.
Investors bet big on the future of voice
Since its founding, Voicemod has garnered over 40 million downloads and millions of monthly users including gamers, streamers, content creators, and those simply wanting to find their voice online.
The company has raised over $20 million in funding, and it was an early player in the booming space of voicetech.
It’s a sector that has attracted investor attention in gaming, business, and even medtech use cases.
Just this year, we saw Elevenlabs raise $80 million in a Series B funding round in January 2024, which valued the company at $1.1 billion, Smaller rounds include Neuphonic ( UK), Voiceline (Germany), Synthflow, and Whispp. Last week Vivid Mind raised €200,000 for its AI-powered voice test to detect early-stage dementia.
According to Bordanova, its use is gaming plays an important role:
"You can feel more connected to your authentic self. Maybe you don't feel comfortable with your real voice, and you want to tune it.
We enhance the gaming experience by enabling users to change just not their voice but how they are heard by other players, embodying something different while they play."
The software has also had an unanticipated benefit, with some women using it for greater anonymity or to change their gender while playing to avoid harassment.
Users can access sounds created by the Voicemod team and content from popular franchises licensed by the likes of Warner Bros or create and share their own sounds within the Voicemod community.
I asked about voice scamming, and Bordanova asserted,
"We are not allowing anyone to clone any voice. It's very hard with our technology to pretend to be somebody else that you can relate to. The tech is there, but we don't allow it.
We incorporate proprietary data derived from verified open-source datasets and recordings from voice actors we've contracted. These agreements grant us the right to use their voices in specific ways, ensuring fair compensation for their contributions.
He's confident that the team's technology is being used responsibly and ethically.
The launch of industry-first hardware with Voicemod Key
The company recently released Voicemod Key, a new hardware device to bring real-time voice changing to game consoles for the first time.
The low-cost dongle lets users change their voice in real-time with hundreds of AI voices and a soundboard featuring over 300,000 sounds and audio memes.
To use Voicemod Key users attach the dongle to their smartphone or tablet via a USB-C or Lightning port, then connect both their headset and console to the two available ports on the dongle. This setup allows for complete voice-changer and soundboard functionality during console voice chat and in-game chat.
Voicemod offers a free version of its software, allowing users to access basic features and paid additional voice packs, effects, customisation options and licenses for both individual and business use.
While the company started its operations in English it is expanding its data sets in other languages, especially Spanish and Japanese.
Bordanova sees a greater expansion into hardware, especially data processing on the edge, sharing:
"We envision a future where voice technology is seamlessly integrated into hardware, processed directly on-chip. This will significantly reduce latency and deliver a more immersive and responsive user experience."
The company is also poised for significant partnerships and third-party licences in the IP space.
Voicemod Key is now available in the US, and plans to roll out elsewhere in 2025.
Lead image: Voicemod.
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