Creator of speech recognition-based video games for people with speech disorders wins judges' vote and audience's vote NEW YORK , Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SAY IT Labs , the creator of Stutter Stars, speech recognition-based video games designed for people with speech disorders, won the 15th annual Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition (EBPC) in New York City this month, earning the $40,000 grand prize and the $5,000 Osage Venture Partners Audience Choice prize, after receiving the most votes from a live audience of investors, researchers, and practitioners. SAY IT Labs won the Michael & Lori Milken Family Foundation Grand Prize following a live on-stage pitch presentation by CEO, Director & Co-Founder, Erich Reiter .
The pitch competition was held September 10 as part of HolonIQ's 23rd annual 'Back to School Summit' and aims to reward startups trying to address the challenges facing education. The summit featured attendees from Google, Amazon Web Services, Goldman Sachs, Harvard Business School , IBM, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the U.S.
Department of Education, UNICEF, and many other organizations. "We are incredibly grateful to the audience, the judges, Penn GSE, HolonIQ and everyone who has shown appreciation for our vision, which is to support people with speech disabilities," said Erich Reiter , CEO, Director and Co-Founder, SAY IT Labs. "The other six finalists were incredibly impressive so it is humbling to be in their company and to have earned.