Tech: Funding round to accelerate growth for technology to treat speech conditions

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – SpeechVive Inc. announced Tuesday (July 7) the completion of a convertible note that will provide the necessary resources to begin scaling the business.

SpeechVive is a Purdue University-affiliated medical device company dedicated to treating the speech conditions of over 1.5 million people in the United States who suffer from chronic neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.

The capital was raised through a syndicated round, including funding from Elevate Ventures (Indianapolis), Purdue Foundry Investment Fund (West Lafayette), Southwest Angel Network (Austin, Texas), Racine Medical Angels (Racine, Wisconsin), SideCar Angels (Boston), and the SpeechVive management team.

“This funding will provide the resources we need to scale our business within the Veterans Affairs hospitals by allowing us to add several salespeople to our team,” said Steve Mogensen, president and CEO of SpeechVive. “We also plan to continue to pursue reimbursement from Medicare and commercial insurance companies, which will allow access to SpeechVive for roughly 1 million people who are retired or on a fixed income and could greatly benefit from SpeechVive but cannot afford it.”

SpeechVive is an Indiana startup company, based on the research of Jessica Huber, a professor in Purdue’s Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. The company has developed a wearable medical device to improve the speech clarity of people with Parkinson’s.

“The SpeechVive device, which fits behind the patient’s ear, detects when a patient is speaking and elicits louder and clearer speech through an involuntary reflex known as the Lombard Effect,” said Huber, inventor and co-founder. “Approximately 89% of people with Parkinson’s disease will have speech issues. Access to SpeechVive for those patients will make a significant improvement in their quality of life.”

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SpeechVive is a behind-the-ear smart device that helps people with Parkinson’s disease speak more loudly and communicate more effectively. The SpeechVive device is based on the research of inventor and co-founder Jessica Huber at Purdue University. Clinical data over four years demonstrated SpeechVive to be effective in improving volume, articulation and speech rate in 90% of the people participating in two multisite clinical trials. It is estimated that 1.5 million people in the U.S. and 10 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson’s disease. To learn more about SpeechVive, visit http://www.speechvive.com.

The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds scholarships and grants; acquires property; protects Purdue’s intellectual property; and promotes entrepreneurial activities on behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park, Purdue Technology Centers and University Development Office. In 2020, the IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The foundation received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization at [email protected]. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at [email protected].

Purdue Research Foundation Contact: Chris Adam, [email protected]

Sources: Jessica Huber, [email protected]

Steve Mogensen, [email protected]