Pedius

WHAT IF WE COULD BREAK DOWN COMMUNICATION BARRIERS FOR DEAF PEOPLE?

Reserving a table at a restaurant, booking a doctor’s appointment and even phoning emergency services are things that many people take for granted. For deaf people, simple tasks like these aren’t possible. At Pedius, we’ve created an app that allows deaf people to communicate through phone calls.

Pedius transforms what the user writes in the app to a synthetic voice – if the user can speak then this can be spoken into the app instead. Then – thanks to the app’s voice recognition technology – the app the transforms the person on the other end of the line’s response into real-time text. All this is done without a third-party intermediary and allows deaf people to have telephone conversations with full privacy. Pedius has enabled more than 30,000 users in 13 countries to connect through telephone calls.

FUNDING WOULD ALLOW US TO…

We want to expand our service in Asia, where one third of the global deaf population lives. We will use the funding to start expanding into this continent and to develop our app further.

DIFFICULT EXPERIENCES INSPIRED ME

I saw an interview on TV with a man who was unable to call emergency services after a road accident because he was deaf. He was left waiting on the side of the road for hours, just hoping for someone to notice him to call an ambulance and tow truck for him. That moment I felt the idea appear in my head. I thought, I have the skills to find a solution, and two weeks later I left my job to dedicate all my energy to this mission.

WHAT’S YOUR BLEND FOR SUCCESS?

We blend new technology with a social purpose to serve the deaf community – and we’re blending two communities together through the use of our app. On top of this, our team is also a blend as it’s made up of 13 people from four continents, speaking seven languages.