Sonantic
Company Summary
Sonantic developed hyper-realistic AI voices for the entertainment industry. Its text-to-speech platform could generate emotionally expressive, human-like speech in seconds. Creators used it to produce dialogue tailored by gender, personality, accent, and tone. In 2022, Sonantic was acquired by Spotify to power new voice experiences at scale.
The Problem
Voice content is essential in gaming and entertainment but time-consuming to produce. Recording high-quality dialogue requires casting, directing, and post-production—all of which slows development. As demand for immersive media grows, studios struggle to scale voice creation quickly and cost-effectively.
The Solution
Sonantic’s AI-powered voice engine created natural-sounding performances from text input alone. The platform allowed developers to instantly generate lines of dialogue with different emotional states and vocal traits. This removed production bottlenecks and opened new creative possibilities across film, gaming, and interactive media.
Funding
Before its exit to Spotify in 2022, Sonantic had raised $2.3M in funding from investors including EQT Ventures. Its technology gained attention globally after recreating Val Kilmer’s voice for Top Gun: Maverick.
Founders
Zeena Qureshi
CEO
Zeena previously cofounded 2 tech startups, and has experience in implementing speech and language therapy with children diagnosed with the Autism Spectrum Disorder. She was named on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in 2021 for Media & Marketing.
John Flynn
CTO
John holds an MSc in Sound Computing with Distinction from Queen Mary University of London, where he ranked among the top 3 in his cohort. He has experience in the film industry, specializing in backend sound post-production, with credits including Batman, Harry Potter, and Justice League.