Rabbit Partners with ElevenLabs to Bring Voice Commands to r1 Devices
Rabbit, a hardware company, has partnered with ElevenLabs to integrate voice command capabilities into its r1 devices. The first batch of these devices is scheduled for shipment next month, following significant attention at CES earlier this year.
ElevenLabs’ Technology Enhances User Experience
The r1 devices will feature ElevenLabs’ technology, enabling users to interact with the device using voice commands and receive responses in a natural, human-like manner. Initially, the feature will support English with a single voice option. ElevenLabs’ low latency models will contribute to more seamless and intuitive interactions between users and the r1.
“We’re working with rabbit to bring the future of human-device interaction closer. Our collaboration is about making the r1 a truly dynamic co-pilot, ” ElevenLabs’ CEO Mati Staniszewski said in a prepared statement.
Perplexity AI and Additional Features
In January, Rabbit announced that it would utilize Perplexity AI‘s solutions to provide answers to user queries directly on the device. The first batch of $199 r1s will be shipped by March 31, reaching users within a few weeks. Out of the box, users will be able to interact with chatbots, get answers from Perplexity, use bi-directional translation, order rides and food, and play music through the device.
Rabbit’s Growth and Demand
Rabbit’s CEO, Jesse Lyu, recently stated at a StrictlyVC event that the company is close to receiving 100,000 device orders, highlighting the growing demand for their products.
ElevenLabs’ Funding and Expansion
Earlier this year, ElevenLabs secured $80 million in a Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and entrepreneur Daniel Gross. This funding elevated the company to unicorn status. ElevenLabs has been focusing on providing voice cloning services for various applications, including audiobooks, movie and TV show dubbing, advertisements, and video game characters.
Partnerships and Controversies
Recently, PocketFM, an Indian audio platform that raised $103 million from Lightspeed, announced its use of ElevenLabs’ services to enable creators to convert their written works into audio series. However, ElevenLabs has also faced criticism due to users attempting to exploit its technology, such as fooling bank authentication systems, mimicking celebrities, and generating problematic content. In response, the startup has developed a tool to detect speech created by its platform and is working on a solution to detect and distribute synthesized audio to third parties.
2 Comments
Rabbit collaborating with ElevenLabs? Talk about a leap into the future of voice control!
Seriously, rabbits doing tech collabs now? Next, they’ll be running the internet.