Nagish, a company using AI to make communication accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, announced $16 million in funding. This includes $11 million in Series A funding led by Canaan Partners, with participation from existing investors K5 Global, Tokyo Black, Cardumen Capital, Vertex Ventures Israel, Contour Venture Partners, and Precursor Ventures, and the founders of Datadog and Looker.
This funding complements Nagish’s $5 million seed round. And it will fuel the continued development of Nagish’s AI-powered communication tools to transform how more than a billion people with hearing loss communicate and work.
Nagish’s goal is to bridge the communication gap faced by the hard-of-hearing community, utilizing advanced AI to create accessible, intuitive, and practical tools. And with this new funding orund, Nagish is set to enhance its product offering, expand its reach, and ensure that more individuals worldwide can benefit from seamless communication. These advancements will enable individuals to connect, learn, and thrive – and underscore Nagish’s commitment to the hearing loss community.
Nagish has developed the first end-to-end private relay service, enabling deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to communicate without a third party. And the company’s flagship product is an AI-powered speech-to-text and text-to-speech phone app – which stands out for its highly accurate and instantaneous transcription of spoken language into text.
Nagish provides real-time transcription and customizable text display options, an intuitive interface that replaces native phone apps, and voice modulation features, making it a comprehensive communication tool for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. And Nagish enables people with hearing loss to follow conversations in real-time, enhancing personal interactions and improving accessibility while keeping calls private and secure.
The company also has partnerships with many large enterprises, including Comcast, Pfizer, NBCUniversal, and Amazon, whose employees use Nagish for personal and business communication. And Nagish was recently certified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide telecommunication relay services, a significant achievement that underscores its commitment to regulatory compliance and user safety.
With this funding, Nagish will bring new products to the market and increase its hiring efforts, bringing top talent in AI development, product design, and customer support to ensure its users’ continued success.
KEY QUOTES:
“Nagish is not just another AI app. It’s a catalyst for empowerment, independence, and social inclusion, inspiring a new era of communication for millions of individuals with hearing loss. Nagish exemplifies the profound impact that AI can have on society, making inclusivity and accessibility a reality for millions.”
– Laura Chau, partner at Canaan
“This funding is a testament to the critical need for innovative solutions that address the daily challenges faced by millions of people who are deaf or hard of hearing. We believe in a future where inclusivity and accessibility are not just ideals but everyday realities, and Nagish is pioneering a new era of communication.”
– Tomer Aharoni, Nagish CEO and co-founder
