Kirusa teams with Nuance to Deliver a Comprehensive Suite of Multimodal Solutions

Edison, NJ, July 31, 2003:  Kirusa, the leading provider of multimodal platforms enabling wireless applications delivery, today annouced availablity of a comprehensive suite of multimodal solutions designed to run on speech recognition software from Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN), the speech experts. Powered by Nuance’s award winning Nuance 8.0 speech recognition software and Nuance Vocalizer 3.0 text-to-speech software, and by the Kirusa multimodal platform, the multimodal solutions will enable wireless carriers and service providers to offer applications such as directory assistance, messaging, and field force automation, with integrated voice and visual interfaces. Such solutions allow wireless phone and PDA users to access information by simply speaking a command or using visual inputs such as typing or tapping with a stylus. The application results are then delivered visually on the wireless device screen, by voice, or through innovative combination of both voice and visual modes.

Kirusa has joined the Nuance Partner Alliance, and Nuance has joined the Kirusa Application Developer Program. The alliances will enable Kirusa to market the integrated products to mobile carriers and to enterprises around the world.

Kirusa's multimodal platform supports SMS, sequential, and simultaneous multimodality. SMS multimodality addresses the huge deployed base of SMS-capable handsets to deliver engaging multimodal experiences, while sequential multimodality allows users to seamlessly alternate between voice and visual (WAP) interactions on mass market, off-the-shelf mobile handsets. Simultaneous multimodality allows users to use both voice and visual interactions at the same time on advanced handsets, including those based on platforms such as Microsoft’s SmartPhone™, Symbian™ (e.g. Nokia’s Series 60 and Symbian OS Version 7 as used by Sony/Ericsson), Qualcomm’s BREW™, Palm’s PalmOS, and Microsoft’s PocketPC.

“The combination of Kirusa’s multimodal software and Nuance’s speech software is a powerful one,” said Chuck Berger, president and CEO, Nuance. “Together we can provide our mutual customers with the most accurate, scalable and reliable multimodal solutions available on the market today.”

“Nuance’s industry leading speech technologies, especially for large vocabulary server based speech recognition and authentication, and a vertically integrated voice platform, fit well with our architecture, and with the needs of our customers,” said Inderpal Singh Mumick, CEO and founder, Kirusa. “Our alliance with Nuance extends our technical and marketing leadership, and widens our ability to bring multimodality to a larger set of users.” 

About Kirusa

Kirusa is one of the leading global developers of Mobile Social Media and Value Added Services enabling mobile subscribers to reach out to their family and friends. Kirusa’s solutions include the hugely successful Kirusa Voice SMS service, the world’s most advanced Voice SMS solution, used by over 30 carriers around the world. Kirusa has pioneered a suite of social media applications that facilitate mobile subscribers to interact through voice, including the Call-n-Tweet application which helps users update their Twitter status using voice. Kirusa provides an open platform with APIs to enable third parties to offer mobile applications services to mobile subscribers. Used by mobile subscribers millions of times daily, Kirusa solutions are built on its patented and patent pending technology and its highly reliable and scalable open multimodal platform. Kirusa has been recognized as one of top 100 technology companies by Silicon India, and one of top 25 emerging technology companies by Smart Techie magazine. Headquartered in New Jersey and led by an experienced team of wireless telecom executives and technologists, Kirusa has offices in three continents. ‘Kirusa Voice SMS,’ is a trademark of Kirusa, Inc.

For more information visit: www.kirusa.com.

Media Contacts

Kirusa
Navneet Anand
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