First of all … Best wishes for the year 2026 !
We wish you a low latency, no hallucinations, accurate diarization and more than this health, wealth and happiness !

On our side in 2026 we will push harder and do our best to be better in our mission to Explore - Curate - Connect

The year start in a special manner for us… we reached the 500!
The 500 what ?… Not the fortune nor the millions or staff… The 500 voice AI products / companies added in the Library over the last few months!! (We’ll get back to this later).

Now place to the usual unusual newsletter…

OpenAI is making a significant strategic shift toward audio interfaces as Silicon Valley increasingly moves away from screen-dominated experiences. This pivot represents a fundamental rethinking of how we interact with AI systems, prioritizing voice as the primary medium of engagement. The company is betting that conversational audio interfaces will provide more natural and intuitive user experiences, potentially reshaping how we interact with technology in our daily lives.

Why we love it: Well, the big boy is pushing voice. Open AI marketing power will put voice in the head of every user they have, ultimately benefiting all in the voice industry.

A concerning real-world case study has emerged documenting an AI voice cloning attack. Security researchers have detailed how bad actors can use publicly available voice samples to create convincing voice clones for social engineering attacks. These sophisticated voice frauds can bypass traditional security measures and exploit human trust, highlighting the urgent need for better detection and prevention mechanisms as voice synthesis technology becomes more accessible.

Why we think it's bad: Unfortunately, it speaks by itself…

At CES 2026, Doosan Bobcat unveiled a groundbreaking implementation of AI voice control technology for compact construction equipment. Operators can now control loaders, excavators and other machinery using natural voice commands, significantly improving operational efficiency and safety. This unexpected application demonstrates how voice AI is expanding beyond consumer applications into industrial and specialized equipment sectors, potentially transforming how workers interact with heavy machinery.

Why are we surprised: we’ve all heard about the movie Transformers… well the time has come !

Way more news … automatically updated every day: https://www.voiceaispace.com/news

Stickerbox is an innovative hardware device designed to transform children's spoken imagination into physical reality through a kid-safe, screen-free interface. Developed by Hapiko, this small, durable cube allows users to press a button, speak a creative prompt, and instantly print a unique black-and-white sticker based on their description. The device combines generative AI technology with thermal printing to produce line-art images that encourage tactile engagement, such as coloring and collecting. Built with a strict focus on privacy and safety, the system processes voice data transiently without storing it and utilizes rigorous content filtering to ensure all generated outputs are age-appropriate.

Why we think it's cool: First, because Cesar is part of the team and he's a really cool guy, but also because we believe that the use of voice tech in hardware may be the next big thing! We also love anything that can spark creativity (and wish we were still 8 years old so we wouldn't be judged for using it too much).

Karri.io Karri is a screen-free communication device designed to provide a safe and reliable connection between parents and children without the distractions of a smartphone. Operating as a modern, data-enabled walkie-talkie, the device allows kids to send and receive voice messages with a single button press, ensuring simplicity for users as young as four. The system pairs with a parental smartphone app, offering features like real-time location tracking and secure contact management. built to withstand active play, Karri empowers children to explore their surroundings independently while giving parents peace of mind through constant connectivity and monitoring capabilities.

Why we think it's cool: Anything that can protect children is good, don't you think? We created a monster that got kids addicted and can generate long-term health consequences… This alternative to a mobile phone (using STT if we're not mistaken) is really good for us as a society. Also before the Voice AI Space I worked on a Smart Walkie Talkie concept for quite some time, that’s how I got hooked by the Voice Tech.

Chief Technology Officer | Cofounder

CAMB.AI

Why Akshat ? He was one of the sponsors of our Dubai event and spoke about his tech in front of us, and to be honest, it's hard to believe that what they do is real! (real time live translation + other cool things !) They're about to release a new model, Mars 8… We will share more on this soon.

I studied AI at Carnegie Mellon, which is where I got inspired to take up voice research and applications, largely by looking at the great research and work coming out of WavLab, led by Shinji Watanabe. From there, I went on to work at Apple's Siri group, at a time when it was being led by Ian Goodfellow.

Safe to say, my core academic background and early professional experience launched me very deep into speech synthesis and voice AI as a whole.

I think it starts by asking the right questions on what makes you curious about Voice AI. Why do you care about Voice AI? Is it the thrill of building voice-first applications? If so, a great way to begin is to build or prototype those applications.

There are excellent open-source and closed-source providers today that can be leveraged to create very solid prototypes. As you go deeper, the natural limitations of Voice AI may motivate you to move in a more technical, research-first direction, solving problems in prosody, pronunciation, and more. The best place to begin is to build.

All text will become voice. I do not believe typing or reading will remain the primary medium of the future. We will interact with computers the way we interact with each other: through voice.

If voice is to become the primary interface for "everything," then its future is essentially being omnipresent. At CAMB, we're focused on building small voice models that can fit anywhere, be deployed everywhere, and ultimately be available to all 8 billion people.

Connect with Akshat: here

See what Camb AI do: here

Today is a super tiny step for humanity but a giant one for us. We just added the 500th company to the Voice AI Space website.

A pure vanity metric that still feels good considering the amount of work it required to get there. We could easily be at 1,000 but… we curate all with one thing in mind… Is someone discovering something through this website going to face a good team, a good product and be convinced that yes, it works and needs to be implemented?

We haven't stopped over the end-of-year period, quite the opposite. Hiding from the cold, we burnt lots of tokens to improve all our processes (we were super late on validating submissions)…

The entire backend system now allows us to treat submissions or add new products 10x faster! We also did tons of work to automatically capture jobs from voice AI companies, events from various sources, and have fully automated our newsfeed!

The Globe is now The Vlobe 🤓 we tried to explain the concept in a better way. In a nutsthel you should see it at the entry door & a backend for the Voice AI Space Whatsapp community.

We also completely redesigned our event website, added videos and pictures from all the 2025 events, created a backend turning this website into an event management platform ! (Claudio Code is really really dope if you haven’t yet tried you should!)

Voice AI Space is planning its next global community event in… LONDON 🥰

One meetup on the 29th of January and a new format that we tested at the Paris event that was really cool… A dinner! 10 people around a table, good drinks, good food, good vibes!

More info (video and pictures of all events): https://events.voiceaispace.com/

The Voice AI Space Event season 2025 is behind us, but it will stay in our memory for a really long time! See a recap of the December event in Paris below:

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Have a lovely Wednesday! And once again...