Sign-Speak
Sign-Speak is a Deaf-owned AI company building real-time ASL-to-English captioning, avatar-based interpretation, and an enterprise API/SDK, serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities, content creators, and organizations needing accessible video and live communication.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersRochester, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Sign-Speak does
Sign-Speak Inc. is a Deaf-owned AI company founded in 2021 and headquartered in Rochester, NY (with Boston ties via the Techstars Boston 2021 cohort). The company builds real-time sign language recognition and translation software using proprietary machine learning models trained on what it describes as the world's largest database of ASL words and phrases. Its product portfolio centers on SignCaption, which automatically adds synchronized English captions to ASL videos; SignLive, a real-time avatar-based interpreter for spoken language to ASL at live events, meetings, and broadcasts; and an Avatars feature added in June 2026 that converts video, audio, subtitles, and text into signed ASL experiences with native-signer QA review. An Enterprise REST API and JavaScript SDK (recognizeASL, produceASL endpoints) allow third-party platforms to embed the recognition and avatar capabilities.
The company sells through a hybrid model: a free self-serve SignCaption tier for individual D/HH users and creators (homepage cites 10,000+ sign-ups), a Pioneers Program for early-access community feedback, and direct enterprise sales for SignCaption Enterprise (batch processing, secure upload, editorial dashboard), SignLive, and API/SDK licensing on custom/pricing-on-request terms. Customers are the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community seeking communication tools, content creators and educators producing ASL media, and enterprise organizations pursuing ADA-compliant accessibility for video, live events, and integrated platforms. The business is venture- and grant-backed, with capital from Google for Startups Black Founders Fund ($100K), LATINX Launchpad-SoCal, Techstars Boston, AWS Impact Accelerator, NSF SBIR, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Women Who Tech, Launch NY, and the Boston Impact Initiative; however, the company has not publicly disclosed revenue.
Sign-Speak firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sign-Speak
- Legal name
- Sign-Speak Inc.
- Website
- https://sign-speak.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Sign-Speak is a Deaf-owned AI company building real-time ASL-to-English captioning, avatar-based interpretation, and an enterprise API/SDK, serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities, content creators, and organizations needing accessible video and live communication.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sign-Speak industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sign Language Accessibility Software
- NAICS
- Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), Postproduction Services and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries (51219)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Assistive Hearing & Communication Access (Captioning, Hearing Support, Transcription) (EDAFAKAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) (HDAAAFAA), On-Device Speech & Audio AI (wake word, ASR, enhancement) (HDAAAJAF)
Keywords
Where Sign-Speak is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rochester
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Sign-Speak business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SignCaption Enterprise Subscriptions: Enterprise customers pay for automated ASL interpretation, captioning, and translation services at scale with batch processing, secure video uploads, and full editorial control over AI-generated captions.
- SignLive Enterprise: Real-time interpretation services for live events, meetings, and broadcasts with Avatar technology, billed as subscription or on-demand based on usage.
- API/SDK Licensing: Enterprise API and SDK for integrating sign language recognition and avatar production capabilities into third-party platforms and applications.
- SignCaption Individual: Free tier for individual consumers with early access Pioneers Program. Premium features likely available for paying individual users.
- Avatar Service Orders: Avatar feature for converting video, audio, subtitles, and text into signed ASL experiences with native signer QA review, likely priced per order or subscription.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Full-Time Backend Engineer |
| Subscription | Monthly | Part-Time Social Media Manager |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Avatar Feature Service |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Sign-Speak product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sign-Speak builds AI-driven sign language software that automatically recognizes American Sign Language via camera and translates it to English text in real time, and converts spoken or written English into signed ASL through avatar technology. Its commercial offerings include SignCaption (automatic ASL video captioning), SignLive (real-time avatar interpretation for live events), an Avatars feature/service for converting audio, video, and text into signed ASL, and an Enterprise API and JavaScript SDK that allows third parties to embed sign language recognition and avatar production inside their own platforms.
Product overview
Sign-Speak is a Deaf-owned AI company offering a platform of communication tools built for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. The core products include SignCaption (automated ASL captioning for videos), SignLive (real-time avatar-based ASL interpretation for live events), and an Enterprise API & SDK for third-party integration. SignCaption recently expanded with an Avatars feature for converting audio, video, and text into signed ASL experiences. The company operates the world's largest ASL database and trains proprietary ML models to power translation between ASL and English.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SignCaption: Automatic captioning platform for ASL videos that adds captions in seconds, featuring instant ASL time synchronization and real-time captioning for users.
- SignLive
- CaptionASL
- AvatarASL
Products and services
- SignCaption Automated ASL interpretation, captioning, and translation platform that adds captions to ASL videos instantly using AI, synchronizing captions to signs in real time for individual users.
- SignCaption Enterprise Enterprise-tier automated ASL interpretation and captioning with batch processing, secure video uploads, high-volume predictable billing, and a full editorial control dashboard; sold to organizations that need to make ASL video libraries accessible at scale.
- SignLive Real-time sign language interpretation software for live events, meetings, and broadcasts; plugs into an organization's sound system to display an avatar interpreting speech into ASL in real time with captions included.
- Avatars Standalone avatar service that converts video, audio, subtitles, and text into signed ASL experiences through automatic signing avatars, available to SignCaption users and priced per order with native-signer QA review before delivery.
- Enterprise API & SDK REST API and React / React Native SDK that lets enterprise customers embed Sign-Speak's sign language recognition (recognizeASL) and avatar production (produceASL) into their own platforms and devices for real-time ASL communication.
- Sign-Zone Application designed to create better user feedback and build a safe social media space for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community; listed in Sign-Speak's prior product line under the company's earlier name.
Quantifiable outcome
- BLEU score of 60 matching average human interpreter performance
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Sign-Speak
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Sign-Speak technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature6 records
Sign-Speak partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreAWS Impact Accelerator participant. AWS serves as technology infrastructure partner with case study on Sign-Speak building with AI on AWS for accessible experiences.
- Techstars BostoncoreSign-Speak was one of twelve startups chosen for Techstars Boston 2021 cohort, with Greg Raiz, Jennifer Davis and Simone LaPray providing mentorship. Techstars mission supports businesses that change how we live and work, with devotion to diversity and first company accelerated with a Deaf founder.
- National Technical Institute for the Deaf at RIT/NTIDcoreClose ties of mentorship with NTID at Rochester Institute of Technology. Nicholas Wilkins has background from RIT/NTID. Company has strong ties to Deaf community through this partnership.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sign-Speak competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ava: Ava provides live captioning and transcription primarily for Deaf and Hard of Hearing users in meetings and conversations. It is a direct competitor to Sign-Speak in real-time accessibility captioning, with overlap in target user (D/HH individuals) and core use case (live spoken-language captioning).
- SignAll: SignAll builds computer-vision-based sign language recognition and translation technology, historically focused on ASL-to-English using camera-based setups. It is one of the most direct technological competitors to Sign-Speak's ASL recognition stack, with overlapping enterprise and accessibility positioning.
- Hand Talk: Hand Talk provides an avatar-based translation platform for ASL (and Brazilian Sign Language / Libras) with both a website plugin and mobile app. It is a direct peer in the avatar-driven accessibility space, competing with Sign-Speak's SignLive and Avatars products.
- ProDeaf: ProDeaf provides a sign language interpretation avatar (Hugo) and a sign language translation platform focused on accessibility. It is a direct peer in avatar-driven ASL/LSB interpretation and overlaps with Sign-Speak's SignLive and Avatars offerings.
Broad incumbents
- Otter.ai: Otter.ai is a leading meeting transcription and AI note-taking platform serving enterprises and individuals with real-time ASR-driven captions. While broader in scope, it directly overlaps with Sign-Speak's captioning use case for spoken-language meetings and competes for accessibility-focused buyer budgets.
- Rev: Rev provides AI- and human-powered transcription and captioning services for video, audio, and meetings. It is a broad incumbent in video accessibility captioning, overlapping with Sign-Speak's SignCaption video workflow and competing for enterprise accessibility budgets.
- Speechmatics: Speechmatics is an enterprise-focused automatic speech recognition (ASR) provider with broad language coverage and real-time transcription capabilities. It is comparable to the underlying ASR layer of Sign-Speak's platform and competes for enterprise speech AI budget.
- Deepgram: Deepgram is an enterprise ASR platform offering real-time and batch speech-to-text with strong accuracy claims. It is a comparable enterprise speech AI infrastructure provider and an indirect competitor for accessibility-focused speech-to-text use cases served by Sign-Speak.
- Microsoft Azure AI Speech: Microsoft Azure Speech offers real-time speech-to-text, translation, and avatar-based services, including accessibility use cases. As a major cloud incumbent with bundled sign language and accessibility features, it is a broad competitive threat to Sign-Speak's enterprise positioning.
Emerging players
- Sonix: Sonix offers AI-powered automated transcription, translation, and subtitling for video and audio content. It overlaps with Sign-Speak's enterprise video captioning workflow and competes in adjacent AI-driven accessibility and localization tooling.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sign-Speak social profiles
Digital presenceSign-Speak financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sign-Speak leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Sign-Speak funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sign-Speak M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sign-Speak
What does Sign-Speak do?
Sign-Speak builds AI-driven sign language software that automatically recognizes American Sign Language via camera and translates it to English text in real time, and converts spoken or written English into signed ASL through avatar technology. Its commercial offerings include SignCaption (automatic ASL video captioning), SignLive (real-time avatar interpretation for live events), an Avatars feature/service for converting audio, video, and text into signed ASL, and an Enterprise API and JavaScript SDK that allows third parties to embed sign language recognition and avatar production inside their own platforms.
Is Sign-Speak a public or private company?
Sign-Speak is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Sign-Speak founded?
Sign-Speak was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sign-Speak based?
Sign-Speak is headquartered in Rochester, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sign-Speak make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. SignCaption Enterprise Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are signLive Enterprise, API/SDK Licensing, signCaption Individual and avatar Service Orders.
Who are Sign-Speak's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ava, SignAll, Hand Talk and ProDeaf. Broad incumbents are Otter.ai, Rev, Speechmatics, Deepgram and Microsoft Azure AI Speech. Sonix is listed as an emerging player.
Does Sign-Speak have an API?
Yes. Sign-Speak offers a REST API for enterprise integration. The API includes endpoints for Sign Language Recognition (recognizeASL) and Sign Language Avatar production (produceASL). Authentication uses API_KEY via header. Available to enterprise customers via SDK and documentation at app.theneo.io/sign-speak/sign-speak-api/api-specifications. Developer documentation is at app.theneo.io/sign-speak/sign-speak-api/api-specifications.
What industry is Sign-Speak in?
Sign-Speak's product category is Sign Language Accessibility Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAKAC, Assistive Hearing & Communication Access (Captioning, Hearing Support, Transcription), with a secondary code of HDAAAFAA, Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). Its NAICS code is 541930 and its SIC code is 7372.