VITAC acquires SOVO Technologies, a CRIM spin-off company

October 14, 2020

The Computer Research Institute of Montréal (CRIM) salutes the acquisition of SOVO Technologies by VITAC Corp., the largest provider of captioning and accessibility services in the United States. SOVO is a Québec-based spin-off company from CRIM that specializes in the production of high-quality captioning in very short timeframes for television or web broadcasts of live events. This acquisition will enable SOVO, which has over 90 employees, to accelerate its growth over the next few years.

CRIM is extremely proud of the impact of the SOVO spin-off. Originally, the E-Inclusion research network, headed by CRIM and funded by Heritage Canada, aimed to develop digital inclusion technologies to improve access and quality of life for the hearing and visually impaired. CRIM’s experts in artificial intelligence and automatic speech processing developed the first versions of a live captioning system.

The SOVO team continued to invest in R&D in order to respond adequately to the needs of the market, producing captioning in French and then also in English over the last few years. Its sustained commitment to applied research has helped drive the company’s growth and develop a privileged relationship with VITAC.

A Québec technology, initially developed by CRIM and then improved with SOVO, is now used to produce captioning for many broadcasters, among them some of the largest American television channels. This technology has enabled hundreds of thousands of Québec citizens with hearing loss to significantly improve their television experience and quality of life by providing them with quality captioning during live television broadcasts.

Press release from VITAC

Group 2Created with Sketch.
button upCreated with Sketch.

Abonnez-vous à notre infolettre

*Champs requis

Hidden

Subscribe to our newsletter

*Required fields

Hidden