Whispp, the Dutch deep-tech company developing real-time, on-device Voice Reconstruction AI, today announced the appointment of Andreas Spechtler as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Management Board.

Andreas Spechtler, a former President of Dolby International and previously Member of the Board  at Whispp, will assume responsibility for the company’s strategy, operations, commercial growth and organizational development. His appointment comes as Whispp enters its next phase, focused on adopting its technology into mobile devices, PCs and wearables through partnerships with device manufacturers, semiconductor companies and global communication providers and platforms.

Joris Castermans, who founded Whispp and has led the company as CEO since 2020, will remain part of the leadership team as Management Board member and Chief Marketing Officer. In this role, he will lead Whispp’s global marketing, brand strategy, category development, strategic communications and assistive mission.

“Andreas combines extensive global experience in audio technology with a strong understanding of international markets and the partnerships needed to bring new technology into smartphones, PCs and wearables,” said Joris Castermans. “He has already made an important contribution to Whispp’s direction as Chief Strategy Advisor and board member. This leadership structure allows Andreas to focus on scaling the company while I continue to develop the vision, mission and Voice Reconstruction AI category that Whispp was built around.”

Andreas brings extensive international experience in audio technology, innovation and business development. He previously served as President of Dolby International and Regional Vice President Dolby EMEA , where he helped expand Dolby’s business across cinema, broadcast, electronic media and communications.

“Joris, Akash and the Whispp team have built a distinctive technology around the powerful human mission to give the best voice to everyone,” said Andreas Spechtler. “Whispp addresses a clear gap in the voice technology market. Our next step is to turn that innovation foundation into scalable products  and long-term industry partnerships. I look forward to working with Joris, Akash, the Whispp  team and our partners to bring Voice Reconstruction AI into the devices and communication experiences people use every day.”

Whispp’s patented audio-to-audio technology converts whispered, voiceless and affected speech into a person’s clear and natural voice in real-time. The technology runs entirely on the device and is designed to preserve characteristics such as accent, intonation, and speaker identity.

Whispp was founded by Joris Castermans in 2020, inspired by his personal experience with severe stuttering and his ambition to help people communicate in their own natural voice. Akash Raj Komarlu is Co-founder and has led the development of the company’s proprietary Voice Reconstruction AI.

Under Joris’ leadership, Whispp expanded its technology, team, intellectual property portfolio and international partner network. The company has received recognition from TIME Best Inventions, CES Innovation Award and Forbes Accessibility 100 for its technological innovation and human impact.

The leadership transition follows Whispp’s recent €5 million financing round. The funding supports further development of its AI models, new product development, expansion of its intellectual property portfolio and collaborations with global device manufacturers and semiconductor partners.

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About Andreas Spechtler

Andreas Spechtler is an international technology executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience in technology, digital media, intellectual property and global licensing businesses. As a lawyer specializing in media and intellectual property law, he has built his career at the intersection of innovation, IP creation, technology commercialization and international business.

Since entering the international technology sector in the nineties, Andreas has held senior leadership positions at Sony, RealNetworks and Dolby Laboratories. As President of Dolby International and previously Regional Vice President, Dolby EMEA,  he led the company’s EMEA and international operations, driving growth across cinema, broadcast, consumer electronics, mobile, voice and digital media, and managing businesses with annual revenues of several hundred million dollars.

As an entrepreneur, Andreas founded his first technology startup in Munich in 1999 and has since launched and scaled several ventures across Europe, Asia and US.. From 2017, he led Silicon Castles, a technology licensing business builder that has supported more than 100 founders and start-ups from ideation to international expansion and fundraising, including founder training through the Startup Executive Academy alongside professors from Stanford Business School. 

Andreas holds a master's degree in Law from the University of Salzburg and has further strengthened his leadership and business expertise through executive education, including the Executive Program for Growing Companies at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is also a Senior Lecturer in Innovation Management at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences.

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About Whispp

Whispp develops real-time, on-device Voice Reconstruction AI for mobile devices, PCs and wearables. Its patented audio-to-audio technology converts whispered speech into a person’s clear and natural voice and can also anonymize your normal voice to not expose your natural biometric voice identity.

Founded in 2020, Whispp is a privately held company based in Leiden, the Netherlands. Learn more at whispp.com.

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Contact:

[email protected]