Israeli Tech Company Exploring Move To State

An Israeli technology company developing a voice recognition app that can understand impaired speech has won a $1.5 million investment package to relocate to Connecticut, the top prize from the state’s third annual startup challenge.

Voiceitt’s software restores communication to people with nonstandard speech, from children with cerebral palsy and autism to adults with degenerative diseases, like ALS and Parkinson’s.

The company placed first in the fourmonth, international VentureClash competition, a program that works to market Connecticut to companies in digital health, financial and insurance technology and internet of things.

Winners must open a location in the state to accept a financial assistance package from the program, which is managed by the state’s investment arm, Connecticut Innovations.

Voiceitt is now looking for a space in Hartford, said Connecticut Innovations spokeswoman Lauren Carmody.

Last year’s top winner, Dutch insurance tech company FRISS, gave up its $1.5 million investment after deciding against relocating to Connecticut. Second-place winner, Israel’s SCADAfence, gave up a $1 million prize by opting not to relocate.

But Carmody said they are confident that all of this year’s winners, offered a total $5 million in financial assistance, are serious about their interest in Connecticut.

“They spent tons of time with us just making sure Connecticut was the right fit,” Carmody said.

Voiceitt, founded in 2012, already has American ties. The company was based in Boston when it participated in the MassChallenge startup accelerator and Philips Innovation Fellows competition.

In 2015, the company moved to Buffalo, N.Y., after receiving $500,000 from 43North, a New York startup pitch competition that requires winners to relocate to Buffalo for at least 12 months.

This year, Voiceitt juggled its participation in VentureClash with another major startup program nearly 3,000 miles away, the Seattlebased Amazon Alexa Accelerator for voicebased interaction technology.

On Oct. 9, Voiceitt delivered its final pitch for that program — which is not a competition, like VentureClash.

The company is now working to raise $6 million, with Connecticut Innovations, Amazon and Microsoft planning to invest, Carmody said.

Nine companies from six countries participated in the final round of VentureClash last week, out of a pool of 300 applicants from more than 15 countries.

Two second-place winners received $1 million investment awards:

DOZR, a Canadian company that built an online marketplace for renting heavy equipment.

IronYun, a Stamford-based software company that offers business-to-business services. IronYun is VentureClash’s first finalist, or winner, from Connecticut.

Three finalists won $500,000 investment awards:

CloudKPI, an Irish company building tools for software-as-a-service businesses. Carmody says the Dublin-based startup is already renting space at District, a co-working campus located on the Mill River in New Haven.

Invixium, a Canadian company that manufactures biometric authentication tools — like facial recognition and fingerprinting — for markets that need extra security.

Paygilant, an Israeli financial technology company that prevents mobile payments fraud.