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BLEND acquires GM Voices, the company that recorded Siri

This is the Israeli company’s first acquisition since its $10 million Series B funding announcement in March

CTech 10:5616.06.21

Tel-Aviv headquartered BLEND (formerly OneHourTranslation) announced on Tuesday its acquisition of Atlanta-based GM Voices, a global leader in professionally-recorded voice, audio localization, and Voice Branding solutions. BLEND is aiming to expand its offering and cater to all localization verticals and markets, with the rapid rise of social audio and voice-based communications, valued in billions, generating demand for multilingual voice localization among global brands.

BLEND’s first acquisition is part of the company’s strategy to offer enterprise-grade, technology-based localization services with a one-stop-shop approach. In March 2021 the company announced a $10 million Series B funding round from existing investor Fortissimo Capital, which decided to double its investment, and its new brand. BLEND, formerly known as OneHourTranslation, was founded in 2008 and has over 120 employees, 25,000 linguistic experts and eight offices around the world. The company offers managed localization services to enterprises as well as a self-service, on-demand localization platform.

BLEND CEO Yair Tal. Photo: BLEND

“We’re thrilled to welcome GM Voices to the BLEND family,” said Yair Tal, BLEND’s CEO. “Working with Fortune 500 companies, we know that Voice Localization is an essential ingredient for their global growth, and they can't blend locally without it. Now, we’re even better poised to serve the increasing demand for video and audio localization, with the best technology and the most professional voice-over artists available. We look forward to serving GM Voices’ long-term customers and leading LSPs at the highest industry standard. This acquisition is the first of many that will help us fulfill all of our customers' localization needs.”

Most well-known for recording the original Siri and other famed virtual assistants and smart speakers, GM Voices is a leading provider of voice recording and localization services for IVR/telephony, AI, eLearning, explainer and marketing videos, podcasts, subtitling, dubbing and more. With thousands of voice actors in more than 100 languages and dialects, the company provides clients a consistent voice for any application.

“In joining forces with BLEND, we’re excited to have the opportunity to strengthen their robust localization platform with our top-notch voice services and talent,” added Marcus Graham, Founder and CEO of GM Voices. “We couldn’t think of a better partner to merge with as we share the same customer-centric approach of striving for customer success while delivering excellent services and products to our clients.”