Adam Cheyer – Co-founder of Siri and Viv Labs: Before Apple‘s Siri became a household name, there was Adam Cheyer, one of its original creators. His influence in the voice assistant arena cannot be understated, and his more recent venture, Viv Labs, promises more innovations in the space.
Brian Roemmele – Voice Commerce Expert: Often referred to as the “Oracle of Voice,” Roemmele has been a passionate advocate for voice technology for decades. His insights into how voice will shape commerce and human-computer interaction are enlightening.
Noelle LaCharite – Principal PM Manager for Applied AI at Microsoft: Focusing on Microsoft’s Azure Cognitive Services, LaCharite has been at the forefront of making voice and conversational AI tools more accessible to developers and businesses.
Kitt.ai Founders: Xuchen Yao and Guoguo Chen – Known for creating the open-source platform ChatFlow and the hotword detection system Snowboy, Kitt.ai’s founders have significantly impacted the voice assistant development space. Their tools are utilized by many in the community.
Cathy Pearl – Head of Conversation Design Outreach at Google: A leading voice in designing human-computer conversational interactions, Pearl’s work ensures that voice assistants like Google Assistant remain user-friendly and natural to interact with.
Jan König – Co-founder of Jovo: König’s Jovo is a popular open-source framework that allows developers to create voice apps for platforms like Alexa and Google Assistant. He’s central to discussions about the future of cross-platform voice application development.
David Isbitski – Chief Evangelist for Alexa and Echo at Amazon: A major figure at Amazon, Isbitski plays a significant role in advocating for and educating about Amazon’s Alexa ecosystem. His talks and presentations provide a deep dive into Alexa’s capabilities and vision.
Tom Hewitson – CEO and Founder of labworks.io: Hewitson’s company produces top voice apps for platforms like Alexa. As a leading voice app developer, his insights into the challenges and opportunities of the space are invaluable.
Dag Kittlaus – Co-founder and CEO of Viv Labs: Alongside Cheyer, Kittlaus has been a driving force behind Siri and later Viv, which aims to open up the ecosystem for third-party developers to create more intricate voice assistant functionalities.
Brad Abrams – Group Product Manager for the Google Assistant: Abrams provides a behind-the-scenes look into the development and vision of the Google Assistant. His discussions often revolve around the technological advancements and potential of voice technology.
