Pioneering speech AI startup Niter, founded by CEO Travis Ralph-Donaldson, won the regional round of the global Pitch2Tokyo competition, earning the opportunity to represent Manchester at Venture Café Global Gathering in Tokyo on 19 February.

Niter develops foundational speech AI that is language, accent, and speaking style agnostic and have showcased their new technology in flagship language learning app Speacher. This app provides realtime individualised AI feedback to students and is the first app to do this completely on-device, making it highly accessible and secure. Niter's Speacher app recently won the prestigious BERA Impact and Public Engagement award as part of the Digital Engagement and Language Teaching (DELTEA) project that has gone on to influence UK EdTech policy. 

Andrew Ruffler, Director of Venture Café Manchester: “For us, Pitch2Tokyo wasn’t just about finding a winner to send to Japan—it was about widening access to opportunity. Niter is a prime example of the exceptional innovation in Manchester. Championing founders like Travis ensures that our region’s most impactful startups get the global platform they deserve.”

The flagship annual event of Venture Café Global Institute, Global Gathering brings together innovation community builders and industry experts from across the world. Each Venture Café sends its top local startup to compete in the Pitch2Tokyo, akin to a ‘World Cup of Innovation’, spotlighting regional ingenuity on a global stage and fostering friendly, high-stakes competition between ecosystems. This annual event exemplifies the impact of Venture Café’s signature Thursday Gatherings, focused on serendipitous collisions and demonstrating how local communities cultivate globally competitive startups.

Supporters of Manchester’s innovation community are invited to Venture Café Manchester’s Thursday Gathering on 12 February to send off Niter. Register to attend here.