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Analysis
December 11, 2023
AI for non-standard speech and inclusive GPS: Meet the impact startups using tech to tackle the disability divide
With more than 1bn potential users, startups working in the disability tech space can have a huge impact. Using AI, they can scale up their solutions even faster
Sarah Drumm
4 min read
Excitement around how AI can change the way we live and work has reached fever pitch — but less often discussed is how it could create a more inclusive, accessible world.
Yet the opportunity is vast. Sifted estimates the addressable market for disability tech is somewhere in the 2bn range, while PwC predicts AI could contribute nearly $16tn to the global economy by 2030.
In the UK, Signapse is a startup using AI to create virtual sign-language interpreters that respond in real time, while German-US startup Munevo makes smart glasses that translate head movements into wheelchair commands. Studies in Switzerland have even shown it could be possible to combine AI with brain implants to help paralysed people walk and [...]