ElevenLabs' Text-to-Speech App "Reader" Now Available Globally

Table of Contents

Revolutionizing the Way We Experience Text: ElevenLabs’ Reader App Goes Global

In a significant move, ElevenLabs, a pioneering startup in AI-powered tools for creating and editing synthetic voices, has announced the global availability of its Reader app. This breakthrough app allows users to upload any text content – articles, PDF documents, e-books, or more – and listen to it in different languages and voices.

A Milestone Achievement: 32 Language Support

The Reader app, initially launched in June in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, has now been made available worldwide with support for an impressive 32 languages. This expansion includes languages such as Portuguese, Spanish, French, Hindi, German, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Italian, Tamil, Swedish, and many more.

ElevenLabs’ innovative approach to AI-powered tools has garnered significant attention in the tech industry, having become a unicorn earlier this year after raising $80 million from prominent investors like Andreessen Horowitz. The company’s API provides businesses with various use cases for dubbing or text-to-speech applications, such as powering voice interactions on devices like Rabbit r1 and offering text-to-speech features on AI-powered search engines like Perplexity.

The Reader App: A Game-Changer in Accessible Content

The Reader app is ElevenLabs’ first consumer-facing product, marking a significant milestone in the company’s mission to democratize access to content. With its user-friendly interface, users can effortlessly upload any text-based material and enjoy it in their preferred language and voice.

A Library of Voices: The Perfect Match for Every Language

ElevenLabs has added hundreds of new voices from its library that cater specifically to each supported language. Last month, the company licensed the voices of renowned actors like Judy Garland, James Dean, Burt Reynolds, and Sir Laurence Olivier for the app. This move not only enhances the user experience but also adds a touch of authenticity to the voice interactions.

Turbo v2.5: The Secret Behind Enhanced Language Support

The extended language support is made possible by ElevenLabs’ Turbo v2.5 model, released last month. This cutting-edge technology reduces latency and improves quality in text-to-speech conversion, ensuring a seamless experience for users worldwide.

A Competitive Landscape: Speechify and Beyond

While ElevenLabs’ Reader app stands out with its innovative features and extensive language support, it faces competition from similar apps like Speechify. Speechify offers additional functionalities such as document scanning, integrations with popular services like Gmail and Canvas, and the ability to clone one’s own voice for reading text.

Other notable mentions in the realm of reader apps include Mozilla-owned Pocket and The New York Times’ Audm-based audio app, which also allow users to listen to content. ElevenLabs has expressed its commitment to continually enhancing the Reader app with features like offline support and the ability to share audio snippets.

Conclusion

ElevenLabs’ global expansion of the Reader app marks a significant milestone in the development of accessible content. With 32 languages supported, this app is poised to revolutionize the way we experience text. As ElevenLabs continues to push the boundaries of AI-powered tools, it will be exciting to see how this technology evolves and further democratizes access to information.

About Ivan Mehta

Ivan Mehta covers global consumer tech developments at TechCrunch. He is based out of India and has previously worked at publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web. You can reach out to him at imivanmehta(dot)com.

Inside the wild fall and last-minute revival of Bench, the VC-backed accounting startup that imploded over the holidays by Charles Rollet
iRobot co-founder’s new home robot startup hopes to raise $30M by Kyle Wiggers
OpenAI’s take on AI agents could come in January by Kyle Wiggers

Topics