Queensland Startup Uses AI to Restore Voices
Synopsis
Laronix has developed AI technology that recreates the natural voices of patients who have lost the ability to speak after cancer treatment.
Brisbane-based medical technology firm Laronix has developed a new AI technology that restores a voice close to the original to patients with throat cancer after surgery, and speech has become an issue.
The Queensland-based start-up has now received over $3 million in funding from the Australian Government to take the technology to the next stage, with trials currently going on in Australia and the United States.
Laronix is a company founded by a biomedical engineer, Dr. Farzaneh Ahmadi, which creates software that can recreate a natural voice in just 10 seconds of recorded speech.
The AI model is used in conjunction with the company's AVA Voice wearable device which translates breathing information into speech for individuals who have had a laryngectomy, the surgical removal of the voice box usually as part of the treatment of advanced throat cancer.
Clinical Testing Broadens
The new system is different to traditional electronic voice devices which produce a standard computer speech and instead will be able to use an existing recording, such as a mobile phone video or voice message, to output the user's original speech. Doctors in Australia and the United States are now testing the technology before it can be released more widely next year.
Laronix is also evaluating the technology in patients with neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and in those who have come out of artificial respiration in intensive care.
It is being studied in a clinical trial at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Maryland for patients who have recovered from intubation and tracheostomy.
Growing Clinical Need
The need for voice restoration continues to grow. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a part of the World Health Organization (WHO), states that approximately 188,000 new cases of laryngeal cancer and nearly 100,000 deaths were reported worldwide in 2022, the most recent year included in the GLOBOCAN 2022 report.
The highest number of new cases of diagnosis was seen in Asia, and the highest incidence rate, per population, was seen in Europe.
In 2025, Laronix secured A$3.2 million funding from the Australian Government's Industry Growth Program for the commercial development of their voice solutions.
The AVA Voice device has already been cleared by regulatory agencies in both Australia, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the company plans to sell the device in both countries while it moves forward with its AI voice reconstruction platform.
Source: Smart Company
Pooja Malik is a business journalist with over six years of experience covering startups, entrepreneurship, and emerging trends. She has previously worked with leading media platforms such as YourStory Media and BW BusinessWorld, where she reported on business, policy, and market developments. Currently, she serves as Editor at The Inspirepreneur Magazine, where she writes and edits stories across business, lifestyle, and travel, with a focus on clarity, accuracy, and reader relevance.
