Gold Coast medtech Laronix has developed AI technology that recreates the original voice of a person who has lost their larynx from as little as 10 seconds of old audio, such as a voicemail or home video, SmartCompany reported in July 2026.
People who have their larynx removed, most often because of throat cancer, have had few options for restoring speech, and the main ones produce a mechanical or generic sound. Laronix is trying to close that gap in two steps: a wearable device that produces speech, and software that makes the speech sound like the patient did before surgery.
The device
Laronix’s first product, AVA Voice, is a wearable electronic voice prosthesis. It monitors the wearer’s breathing signals when they try to speak and uses AI to generate a voice. It has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration.
The new voice technology
The newer system, MIRA-AI, recreates a patient’s own voice rather than a synthetic one. According to SmartCompany, it works across languages, accents and vocal styles, and was developed with Google after Laronix was selected for the Google for Startups program in 2025.
“This is the first time we can actually give them their own missing voice back,” founder Dr Farzaneh Ahmadi told SmartCompany.
Pre-release testing is under way with clinicians in Australia and at major US hospitals. A broader release is planned for next year, subject to fundraising. The company sees potential uses beyond throat cancer, including Parkinson’s disease, other neurological conditions and ICU patients unable to speak after ventilation.
The founder and funding
Ahmadi has worked on the problem since 2020. Laronix raised a $2 million seed round in August 2023 led by Scale Investors, with Blamey Saunders hearing aid co-founders Dr Elaine Saunders and Dr Peter Blamey and Modibodi founder Kristy Chong also investing. In November 2025 it received $3.2 million in non-dilutive funding from the federal Industry Growth Program, on top of earlier grants under the Accelerating Commercialisation program and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre’s Commercialisation Fund.
Jack’s take
Most of the public argument about AI voice cloning is about it being used to steal someone’s voice. This is the opposite case, and to me it is the best thing the technology can do: give a voice back to someone who lost theirs.