Black Female Founders in Voice AI and Deep Tech

Black Female Founders in Voice AI and Deep Tech with Amazon Alexa Startups

February 22, 2022 | Contributed by Kristina Milyuchikhina, Amazon Alexa Startups Business Development

“We’re excited to continue working with Women in Voice to celebrate women innovating in voice technology,” said Kristina Milyuchikhina, Amazon Alexa Startups Business Development. “The collaboration between Alexa Startups and Women in Voice gives us an opportunity to share the stories and accomplishments of some of the amazing women founders we’re currently working with while helping us to discover new promising developers.”

Alexa Startups is excited to continue working with Women in Voice to celebrate women innovating in voice technology. The collaboration between Alexa Startups and Women in Voice gives us an opportunity to share the stories and accomplishments of some of the amazing women founders we’re currently working with while helping us to discover new promising developers.

The Alexa Startups team engages founders and investors through startup programs, business development, and technical support. A few founders paving the way include Ilarna Nche of Adassa Innovations, Megan Gray of Moment AI and Monique Howard of Smarticles.

Ilarna is the CEO and Founder of Adassa Innovations, a studio and consultancy that builds voice applications to work with voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Samsung Bixby. On top of her success with Adassa Innovations, Ilarna is an award-winning Amazon Alexa Champion.

Megan is the CEO of Moment AI, an autonomous vehicle (AV) company, and has a background as an engineer specializing in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 23, Megan was inspired to launch Moment AI which uses physiological and traffic data to prevent accidents and create a better driving experience.

Monique has over 20 years of experience developing technology solutions for companies like Procter & Gamble and Hewlett Packard. As a mother of two children with learning challenges, Monique has recognized that those most at risk may need extra help to succeed in school. With the development of the flagship Alexa Skill Color Together, she launched Smarticles in 2020 to build voice apps to support young students’ socioemotional well-being and conversation skills through activities that help them manage their feelings and communicate with others.

You can read more about these founders in their own words here:

https://developer.amazon.com/en-US/blogs/alexa/alexa-skills-kit

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