Speech Graphics: Revolutionizing Facial Animation with Audio-Driven AI
Headquartered in Edinburgh Speech Graphics is Powering Immersive Characters in Gaming, Film, and the Metaverse.
Speech Graphics is a technology company founded in 2010, headquartered in Edinburgh, with additional offices in Budapest, Singapore, and San Francisco.
Spun out of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, the company specializes in audio-driven facial animation software, leveraging over 20 years of R&D in speech technology, linguistics, AI, and procedural facial dynamics.
Its flagship products, SGX and SG Com, automate high-quality lip sync and full-face emotional expressions from audio input alone, eliminating the need for motion capture. SGX is designed for offline, high-fidelity animation production, while SG Com enables real-time animation with a latency of only 50 milliseconds, optimized for CPU use across platforms like consoles, mobile devices, and custom engines.
The Rapport platform extends this technology to create interactive, AI-driven character experiences for enterprise applications, such as customer service, healthcare, and the metaverse. Speech Graphics serves major clients like Warner Brothers, Microsoft, and Square Enix, with its technology featured in AAA video games like The Last of Us Part II, Hogwarts Legacy, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
The company has raised $9.62 million in funding and employs 42 people as of 2022. It has won several awards, including the John Logie Baird Award for Innovation and the TIGA Award for Best Animation Supplier.
Market Overview
Speech Graphics operates primarily in the facial animation software market, with applications spanning the entertainment industry (video games, film, and music videos) and emerging enterprise sectors like the metaverse, healthcare, customer service, and education.
The company’s core technology addresses the demand for realistic, scalable, and efficient facial animation solutions, driven by audio input, which is critical for creating believable digital characters.
Entertainment Industry (Video Games and Film)
The global video game market was valued at approximately $217 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to $583 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 13.2%. Facial animation is a key component in AAA game development, where high-quality, emotionally expressive characters enhance player immersion.
Speech Graphics’ SGX software is used by 90% of the world’s AAA game publishers, streamlining the animation process for thousands of dialogue lines in games like Hogwarts Legacy (localized across eight languages). In film and music videos, the technology supports rapid production of lip-sync animations, reducing time and costs compared to traditional motion capture.
Metaverse and Enterprise Applications
The metaverse market is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2030, driven by demand for interactive virtual avatars in gaming, social platforms, and enterprise settings. Speech Graphics’ Rapport platform targets this space, enabling real-time, voice-driven avatars for applications like virtual customer service, healthcare (e.g., patient interaction systems), and language education.
The Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVA) market, a subset of this, is projected to grow from $750 million in 2018 to $12.3 billion by 2024. The company’s collaboration with UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley on a brain-computer interface for speech and facial expression synthesis highlights its innovation in healthcare, particularly for restoring communication for those unable to speak.
Competitive Landscape
Speech Graphics competes with companies like Smith Micro, Nimble Collective, and Golaem in the facial animation software space, but its audio-driven, motion-capture-free approach and low-latency real-time capabilities (SG Com) give it a unique edge. The technology’s compatibility with major game engines like Unreal Engine 5 and Maya, along with support for multiple languages (e.g., English, Mandarin, Japanese), enhances its market versatility.
Growth Drivers and Challenges
The rise of real-time content in gaming, virtual reality (VR), and the metaverse, coupled with increasing demand for AI-driven automation, fuels market growth. Speech Graphics benefits from the trend of game engines like Unreal becoming standard in non-gaming industries, such as film and healthcare. However, challenges include maintaining high-quality emotional expressiveness across diverse languages and use cases, as well as competing with GPU-based solutions in a CPU-optimized niche.
In summary, Speech Graphics is a leader in audio-driven facial animation, serving the fast-growing video game and metaverse markets while expanding into enterprise applications. Its innovative, scalable solutions position it well in a dynamic, technology-driven industry.
