Acquisition Led To Innovation Award

HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND: Software specialist Company-X’s acquisition of Pepper Creative in 2019 led to the development of the innovation award winning software Voxcoda.

The inspiration for Voxcoda came from Pepper Creative founder Lance Bauerfeind, who joined Company-X as product owner of the software after the acquisition.

Voxcoda uses artificial intelligence to generate natural-sounding audio files from text. This makes it a cost-effective and efficient way for businesses to create voice overs for their products, services, and marketing materials.

In October 2020, Company-X won the Homegrown Innovators Independent Software Vendor category for Voxcoda in IDG's Reseller News Innovation Awards. The judges praised Voxcoda for its ability to automate a labour-intensive manual process and introduce automated workflow technology to transform the process for users.

“Voxcoda is one of the jewels in the crown of our acquisition of Pepper Creative,” said David Hallett, co-founder, and director of Company-X. “It’s a product that revolutionises the way that companies create and manage voice overs.”

Voxcoda was also instrumental in Company-X becoming an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner. AWS Partners are companies that have demonstrated expertise in using AWS services to help customers achieve their business goals. Company-X was awarded AWS Partner status following an AWS foundational review of Voxcoda.

“We are excited to become an AWS Partner,” said Jeremy Hughes, co-founder, and director of Company-X. “This partnership will allow us to provide our customers with the best possible cloud solutions and help them to achieve their business goals.”

The acquisition of Pepper Creative was a strategic move by Company-X to expand its capabilities in extended reality. As a result of the acquisition, Company-X was able to build a state-of-the-art virtual reality (VR) training programme for First Gas. The VR training programme uses a true-to-life VR model of the Te Kowhai Main Line Valve in the Waikato to train First Gas employees on how to safely operate the plant.

Company-X also built a VR welding fume risk identification and control implementation experience for WorkSafe. The VR experience allows WorkSafe employees to learn about the risks of welding fumes and how to control them.

“The acquisition of Pepper Creative has been a major success for Company-X,” said Hughes. “We have been able to develop innovative new products and services, such as Voxcoda and the VR training programmes for First Gas and WorkSafe. We are excited to continue to innovate and grow our business in the years to come.”

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