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Podcasting platform Podcastle launches a text-to-speech model with more than 450 AI voices

Podcasting platform Podcastle launches a text-to-speech model with more than 450 AI voices

Yahoo03-03-2025
Podcast recording and editing platform Podcastle is now joining other companies in the AI-powered, text-to-speech race by releasing its own AI model called Asyncflow v1.0. An API for developers will also be available, allowing them to directly integrate the text-to-speech model in their apps.
Thanks to the new model, the company is able to offer more than 450 AI voices that can narrate your text. The startup said that it developed the technology and model in such a way that its training and inference costs are low, giving it an advantage against competitors.
With the move, Podcastle joins a number of startups, including ElevenLabs, Speechify, and WellSaid, that have developed technology and AI models to convert any kind of text into a voice clip narrated by AI. This technology spans use cases like marketing, advertisement, content creation, education, and corporate training.
Podcastle's founder, Arto Yeritsyan, told TechCrunch that the company had always wanted to build a text-to-speech model, but the cost of training and data requirements for that were very high.
"We wanted to build a robust text-to-speech model since our inception. However, the costs of development were very high. Thanks to recent large language model developments, we were able to reach a breakthrough last year to get to a place where we could build a high-quality voice model without needing a ton of data," Yeritsyan said.
The company was also aided in its efforts by its $13.5 million Series A fundraise last year.
Yeritsyan said that while Podcastle charges around $40 per 500 minutes of text-to-speech conversion, ElevenLabs charges $99 for the same.
Podcastle's voice cloning feature is getting an upgrade, as well, to create a quicker process for training.
Earlier, the training process involved reading roughly 70 different sentences. Now, it just needs a few seconds of recording from you to create a clone of your voice. The new process also used Podcastle's Magic Dust AI, which was released last year, to improve audio recording quality.
In our testing, the voice created with the new process sounded a bit robotic, though it mimicked our tone. The company said that, over time, it will improve the feature. Plus, you can train different samples of your voice to get different results.
Podcastle said that apart from costs, having tools for audio, video, podcasts, and AI-powered narration under one redesigned site will give it an edge over competitors. Yeritsyan said that while the majority of the users use Podcastle to work on audio content, video is catching up to it as well.
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Montrose Environmental Group Reports Another Record Quarter, First Half 2025 Results, and Increases Guidance
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CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION (In thousands, except share data) (Unaudited) June 30, December 31, 2025 2024 Assets Current assets Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 10,484 $ 12,935 Accounts receivable, net 160,004 158,883 Contract assets 75,313 52,091 Prepaid and other current assets 15,117 14,090 Total current assets 260,918 237,999 Non-current assets Property and equipment, net 61,122 63,776 Operating lease right-of-use asset, net 37,706 39,755 Finance lease right-of-use asset, net 23,825 19,643 Goodwill 468,981 467,789 Other intangible assets, net 139,844 152,756 Other assets 5,688 8,635 Total assets $ 998,084 $ 990,353 Liabilities, Convertible and Redeemable Series A-2 Preferred Stock and Stockholders' Equity Current liabilities Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities $ 66,647 $ 63,704 Accrued payroll and benefits 37,305 34,248 Business acquisitions contingent consideration, current 17,284 26,872 Current portion of operating lease liabilities 11,355 11,345 Current portion of finance lease liabilities 5,483 4,627 Current portion of long-term debt 8,688 17,866 Total current liabilities 146,762 158,662 Non-current liabilities Business acquisitions contingent consideration, long-term 7,346 6,255 Other non-current liabilities 7,052 5,550 Deferred tax liabilities, net 16,414 13,312 Conversion option related to Series A-2 Preferred Stock 10,552 20,224 Operating lease liability, net of current portion 28,853 30,880 Finance lease liability, net of current portion 12,490 11,460 Long-term debt, net of deferred financing fees 264,555 204,818 Total liabilities $ 494,024 $ 451,161 Commitments and contingencies Convertible and redeemable series A-2 preferred stock $0.0001 par value Authorized, issued and outstanding shares: 5,834 and 11,667 at June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively; aggregate liquidation preference of $62.2 million and $122.2 million June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively 33,792 92,928 Stockholders' equity: Common stock, $0.000004 par value; authorized shares: 190,000,000 at June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024; issued and outstanding shares: 35,272,236 and 34,309,788 at June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively — — Additional paid-in-capital 747,685 721,067 Accumulated deficit (273,673 ) (272,670 ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (3,744 ) (2,133 ) Total stockholders' equity 470,268 446,264 Total liabilities, convertible and redeemable series A-2 preferred stock and stockholders' equity $ 998,084 $ 990,353 Expand MONTROSE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP, INC. 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We calculate Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest expense, income tax expense (benefit) and depreciation and amortization, adjusted for the impact of certain other items, including stock-based compensation expense and acquisition-related costs, as set forth in greater detail in the table below. We calculate Adjusted Net Income as net income (loss) before amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation expense, fair value changes to financial instruments and contingent earnouts, discontinued specialty lab, and other gain or losses, as set forth in greater detail in the table below. Basic and Diluted Adj EPS represents Adjusted Net Income attributable to stockholders divided by the fully diluted number of shares of common stock outstanding during the applicable period. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is one of the primary metrics used by management to evaluate our financial performance and compare it to that of our peers, evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies, make budgeting and capital allocation decisions and in connection with our executive incentive compensation. Adjusted Net Income and Basic and Diluted Adj EPS are useful metrics to evaluate ongoing business performance after interest and tax. These measures are also frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry. Further, we believe they are helpful in highlighting trends in our operating results because they allow for more consistent comparisons of financial performance between periods by excluding gains and losses that are non-operational in nature or outside the control of management, and, in the case of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, by excluding items that may differ significantly depending on long-term strategic decisions regarding capital structure, the tax jurisdictions in which we operate and capital investments. These non-GAAP measures do, however, have certain limitations and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss), earnings (loss) per share or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP. Our presentation of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Basic and Diluted Adj EPS should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items for which we may make adjustments. In addition, Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Basic and Diluted Adj EPS may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in our industry or across different industries, and other companies may not present these or similar measures. Management compensates for these limitations by using these measures as supplemental financial metrics and in conjunction with our results prepared in accordance with GAAP. We encourage investors and others to review our financial information in its entirety, not to rely on any single measure and to view Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Basic and Diluted Adj EPS in conjunction with the related GAAP measures. Additionally, we have provided estimates regarding Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for 2025. These projections account for estimates of revenue, operating margins and corporate and other costs. 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Associated Press

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ElevenLabs Launches Eleven Music: Create Royalty-Free Sound Track with AI

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Hubert further confirmed that Kobalt and Merlin-affiliated songwriters will participate in the upcoming 'Eleven Music Pro' model, a future release designed in tandem with rightsholders to deliver commercial-quality outputs with premium licensing support. ===> You can learn more by visiting Eleven Music v1.1 Offers Full Creative Control and Real-Time Streaming for Musicians, Filmmakers, and Creators Tailored Sound for Every Use Case The v1.1 release is designed to accommodate the creative needs of both casual users and professionals. With broad commercial applications, Eleven Music enables high-quality music generation for: - Film and TV scoring: Generate cinematic orchestral or ambient soundtracks with precise mood shifts. - Advertising and branding: Quickly develop jingles, brand anthems, and short-form promotional music in multiple languages. - Gaming and interactive media: Produce loopable, atmospheric scores for various gameplay environments. - Podcasting and audio storytelling: Customize background tracks that match the narrative tone or voiceover style. - Corporate and event use: Generate on-brand music for keynote presentations, product launches, or digital events. Using prompt-based input such as 'A rich orchestral track, deeply cinematic, with symphonic strings and a jubilant crescendo,' users can generate polished, ready-to-use content with full control over dynamics, length, and instrumentation. Explore and Create With Eleven Music at Demo Workflow: A New Paradigm in Song Creation The Eleven Music interface supports timeline-based generation, allowing users to map out songs by section and style. For example, a user may input: - Intro (0:00–0:30): 'In the shadows where the beats collide…' in synthwave style - Verse (0:30–1:00): 'Thunder crashes through the storm…' with a minimal techno arrangement Each section can be tailored using natural language to define not only lyrics and instrumentation, but tone, pacing, and transitions. The streaming feature allows real-time preview of each segment, enabling iterative composition with minimal delay. This system supports multilingual lyrics, stylized mood alignment, and rich orchestral layering—all accessible without specialized audio software or prior production experience. Learn more at Entering a Crowded Field with a Unique Edge With this release, ElevenLabs enters a space populated by startups like Suno and Udio, both of which offer generative music platforms with rapidly growing user bases. However, Eleven Music v1.1 distinguishes itself on multiple fronts: - Licensing-led model: Unlike competitors that have faced legal scrutiny, ElevenLabs is building in collaboration with music rights organizations. - Section-based generation: Offers deeper editorial control than prompt-only solutions. - Streaming-first workflow: Reduces friction in music creation and speeds up feedback cycles. - Multilingual and narrative-ready: Supports song creation across multiple languages and moods, enabling storytelling through sound. Early testers and users have already begun comparing Eleven Music favorably to its competitors, particularly in terms of accuracy with lyrical alignment and overall audio fidelity. Availability and Access Eleven Music v1.1 launched globally on August 5, 2025, and is now available to all registered users via the ElevenLabs platform. The service offers a range of usage tiers including: - Free access with limited generation time - Credits-based generation for individual users - Enterprise and team subscriptions for commercial users with expanded licensing needs A premium model, Eleven Music Pro, is under development in partnership with Kobalt and Merlin to offer industry-grade outputs using licensed datasets from professional musicians and publishers. Full commercial use is permitted under ElevenLabs' platform terms, with attribution and licensing details available at or upon request. About ElevenLabs Founded in 2022 by CEO Mati Staniszewski and CTO Piotr Dąbkowski, ElevenLabs is a frontier AI audio company headquartered in London and New York. The company gained global recognition for its natural-sounding voice synthesis tools and is now expanding into full-scope generative audio. ElevenLabs' mission is to make professional-grade audio creation accessible to everyone—from storytellers and developers to artists and brands—while prioritizing ethical practices and creator rights. Learn more at Khris Steven KhrisDigital Marketing LLC email us here Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.

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