Breaking Language Barriers,
Empowered by Speech AI
✔︎Best-in-Class East Asian Language AI
✔︎Ultra-Low-Latency Real-Time Speech
Products
Simultaneous Translation
Real-Time Subtitles & Live Translation
Powered by Koto, the world-leading speech foundation model developed by Kotoba Technologies. Our AI anticipates the flow of speech and begins translating before the speaker finishes talking—up to 0.5 seconds ahead. From speech onset to on-screen translation, total latency is kept to within approximately one second. Supports Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean. Designed for professionals, available as a dedicated application.
Featured in NHK, Forbes Japan, TV Tokyo, and NVIDIA
Multilingual Voice Interface
Model Licensing
We license our ultra-fast Japanese ASR models—delivering 6.3× faster inference than OpenAI Whisper—as well as our Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech technologies to U.S. Big Tech companies and global enterprises.
These models are well suited for a wide range of applications, including wearables, AI agents, and edge inference.
Case Studies
Our Vision
Pioneering Japan's GenAI development with Cutting-Edge Speech AI,
We create a future borderless.
Our Story
Kotoba Technologies was co-founded by Dr. Noriyuki Kojima and Dr. Jungo Kasai, who earned their PhDs in AI from top U.S. institutions. The company is a cross-border startup that merges cutting-edge AI research and high-performance computing (HPC) expertise from both the United States and Japan.
The journey of Kotoba Technologies began with the development of a Japanese-centric large language model (LLM) using Fugaku, once the world's fastest supercomputer (and at the time ranked second).
Building on the success of this Fugaku project, Kotoba Technologies was founded by assembling the most talented researchers and engineers to bridge the gap in the adoption of generative AI between English and non-English languages. The company focuses on enhancing generative AI’s technical capabilities in the field of speech and exploring its diverse practical applications.
The company’s name, "Kotoba Technologies," is inspired by the origins of the Japanese word "kotoba" (言葉). Derived from the poetry of Tsurayuki Kino, "kotoba" refers to words that bloom like leaves from the seeds of human emotions. We hope the technologies we develop will serve as “seeds” that spread like “leaves” throughout society.
At the heart of groundbreaking technological advancements, Kotoba Technologies stands at the forefront, creating innovations that amaze and inspire.
Founders
Noriyuki Kojima
Co-Founder, CEO
Earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University. Awarded the Best Paper Award at EMNLP 2022, one of the leading conferences in AI. Specializes in natural language processing and computer vision, with a particular focus on large language models. Currently a co-founder of the LLM Fugaku project, a cross-organizational initiative involving Japanese universities and companies, utilizing Fugaku (then the world's second-fastest supercomputer).
Previously worked at Facebook and Hugging Face, a leading company in open-source AI models and data infrastructure. Also a recipient of the Masayoshi Son Foundation Scholarship.
Jungo Kasai
Co-Founder, CTO
Earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. from IBM. Currently an Assistant Professor at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC). At just 29 years old, recognized as a leading expert in natural language processing (NLP), ranked among the top 40 most-cited Japanese NLP researchers. Has published numerous papers in top-tier international conferences.
Internship experiences at Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, and the Allen Institute for AI have provided deep insights into the processes and elements needed to apply AI to real-world applications. Recipient of the Best Paper Award at NAACL 2022. Also a scholar of the Masayoshi Son Foundation and a recipient of the Funai Overseas Scholarship.
We are currently recruiting talented people!
Kotoba Technologies Japan, K.K.
6F Otemachi bldg., 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo,
100-0004, Japan
<Operational Office location :5F Otemachi building, 571>
Established in October 2023
Company
Kotoba Tecnologies, Inc.
Levi's Plaza, 1160 Battery St Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA
Established in July 2023