NextNest Launches WeCast.ai for Voice Broadcast Creation

South Korean startup NextNest has launched Wecast.ai, a voice broadcasting platform for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Wecast enables voice broadcast creation by allowing users to type their messages, just as they would on Twitter or Facebook, to be broadcast on smart speakers all over the world.

"Both Alexa and Google assistant are incredible devices but have not yet reached their potential as devices to connect people," said Sam Seo, CEO of NextNest, in a statement. "There are many voice app tools that claim no coding necessary, but, in the end, require some familiarity with coding and server structure. Just as blogs, Twitter, and Facebook made it easy for people who aren't web developers to get their thoughts and messages out on the internet, Wecast will make using smart speakers more accessible, interactive, and fun."

Wecast.ai offers standardized Alexa Skills and Google Actions that broadcast content residing on users' Wecast pages. Users are only required to name their Skill or Action and provide message content, although additional features and settings are available to customize interaction. Wecast takes the voice apps through the Amazon or Google standard application process, and upon approval, they are ready to be played on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or both.

"To truly improve virtual assistant AI, it needs to be fed massive quantities of short audio or text content, as opposed to the long readable page content that currently drives AI improvement. We have developed a system that can gather this data while providing users a more fun experience" said Seongmin Kim, chief technology officer at NextNest, in a statement.