O'Hear & Co

Please take a moment to vote for Voicemod's panel at SXSW! It only takes one minute. Here’s how to vote: - Sign up with SXSW and search for "Beyond avatars: How audio customization is redefining virtual identity". - Click on the submission, then click “vote” at the top of the page. Public voting ends 23:59 GMT on Thursday 19th Dec so please vote now! 🙏 https://lnkd.in/d8j7Dwy7

In memory of our dear friend and founder Steve O'Hear, we're supporting his family to raise funds for Whizz Kidz, the UK's leading #charity supporting young wheelchair users. They provide essential mobility equipment and services to thousands of young people who need it most. Steve was a supporter and advocate of the Whizz Kidz mission, having benefitted from its work when he was younger. Along with his family, we are sharing this Just Giving page for those in our network who want to support his memory. https://lnkd.in/e_uFFauy 

Today we share the devastating news that Steve O’Hear, the co-founder and CEO of O’Hear & Co Advisory, has passed away. This is a huge loss for all of us and it is hard to believe he is gone, especially as it happened so suddenly after a very short illness. Our first thoughts are with his wife and family and we are supporting them in every way we can. Steve played a huge role in the tech ecosystem - from founding companies and being an angel investor to writing about them at TechCrunch. Most recently, he founded O’Hear & Co Advisory, which supports startups, scaleups and VCs wanting to tell their stories to the world. As many in the tech sector will know, he was a fiercely determined journalist who was never afraid to say it how it was or put founders, operators and investors on the spot with probing questions. He treated his interviewees fairly, respectfully and was an empathetic and understanding champion of those trying to make the world better through technology. Over his decade at TechCrunch he chronicled the ups and downs of the sector and became one of the most important voices in European tech. He was loved for his charm, transparency and good sense of humour. His nose for a story was matched by his network, reputation and passion to help others - through his sage advice and generosity of time and spirit. He left journalism to become SVP of Strategy & Communications at Zapp. He advised the founders on the startup’s strategy even before it launched and, when he joined, it was his passion and communication skills that helped cement the business’s early growth and stabilise its success. Two years ago Steve founded O’Hear & Co, a strategic communications company, which continues to work with Zapp along with a host of other great investors, founders and operators. He wanted to build an agile operation that functioned like an extension of an in-house communications team and could be a VP of strategy and communications for companies in their early stages. He achieved that aim and the business which bears his name has a strong customer base and great reputation for delivering impactful work in his image.  We know he would want us to continue to run the business he loved. We will do so and we will build on his legacy. Thank you to those who have supported us so far on hearing the news. We are so grateful for every moment we were able to spend with Steve and for his guidance and support. Steve, we will miss you. X Steve’s funeral will be for close friends and family. However, there will be a memorial to celebrate his life. If you would like the details, please email [email protected]. 

Sounds like Dominic Smith had a brilliant time exploring #Lithuania's tech scene! Fascinating to see Nord Security innovating from a former sock factory - talk about repurposing with style.

Congratulations Voicemod on launching the official #Batman soundboard in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery!

DeepL, Europe's #AI translation powerhouse, has added Traditional Chinese to its language portfolio. This strategic move strengthens DeepL's presence in key Asian markets, particularly Hong Kong and Taiwan. "We understand the importance of these regions in global trade," says Jaroslaw (Jarek) Kutylowski, DeepL's founder and CEO. The addition aims to help local companies expand globally and international businesses enter Asian markets. With over 100,000 business users and support for 33 languages, DeepL continues to break down #language barriers for global businesses. Hats off to Ioanna Lykiardopoulou at TNW for her reporting on this industry update. For a more you can read the full article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e6e3nzCe

For the best VCs, their edge is having access and, crucially, optionality to invest in the most promising #founders and companies. This is why they also practise the art of storytelling to consistently signal to founders why they should partner with them over their competitors. 💪 As we say at O'Hear & Co, in public relations, story trumps everything. For more on venture capital and the power of storytelling, listen to our CEO, Steve O'Hear on the Nothing Ventured #podcast with Aarish Shah. #VentureCapital #PRTips #Startups

#Robots that seamlessly transition from sidewalks to factory floors? Cartken is making it happen. Cartken has developed a successful #autonomous navigation system that relies primarily on cameras and #AI, rather than lidar or GPS. This hardware-agnostic approach allows its robots to operate in diverse environments, both indoors and outdoors, and can be adapted to various robot designs, making it highly versatile. Averaging 36,000 deliveries per month with its sidewalk delivery robots, Cartken has raised $22.5 million in aggregate #funding, with $10 million in its latest round led by 468 Capital. The startup, founded by former Google engineers, is expanding its vision beyond food delivery to include indoor-outdoor navigation in industrial settings. Thanks to Kirsten Korosec at TechCrunch for this great piece on Cartken's funding and expansion. Read more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eG9uh-Pi #StartUp #DeepTech #Autonomy

What's cooler than sounding like one of your favourite movie characters? Crafting your own unique #AI voice and sharing it with your friends. 👯 Last year Voicemod introduced AI Voice Creator tools, expanding the possibilities for personalised synthetic voices. These features provide users with enhanced control over voice customization enabling the creation of unique vocal personas with precise adjustments. 🤓 🙌 This #technology extends beyond streamers and gamers, offering potential applications for various #creative fields. Users can now develop customised voices and distribute them globally via Community Voices, potentially opening new avenues for digital communication. We appreciate Amrita Khalid and The Verge for their coverage. You can read about the article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gQMdmkDH

DeepL's #AI models are setting new standards in language translation, outperforming competitors with its latest #LLM. The new LLM is specifically built for #translation and editing, and unlike general purpose models, the LLM doesn’t rely on the internet for training. Rather, it uses DeepL’s proprietary data, tailored for content creation and translation. Language experts also took part in the AI model’s training. 💪 Blind tests with professional translators show Google Translate needs twice as many edits and GPT-4 needs three times more to match DeepL's quality. Translations powered by the new next-gen language model are now available for DeepL Pro users in four languages: English, German, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese. A big shoutout to Ioanna Lykiardopoulou at TNW for covering this advancement in AI translation technology. Read the full article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eXzukF_a