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NineNineSix

Category: Voice / Speech AI

A high-performance AI voice technology startup specializing in real-time, expressive text-to-speech (TTS) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) with a focus on underrepresented and localized languages. NineNineSix was founded in 2025. The company is led by Nursultan Bakashov. Based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Team size: 3-10. Total funding raised: $0. Latest round: Self-funded (Bootstrapped, 2025-01) - NineNineSix. Key investors include Nursultan Bakashov (Self-funded).

Founded
2025
Headquarters
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Team size
3-10
Total funding
$0

Value proposition

Delivers open-source, enterprise-grade voice synthesis that rivals global tech giants in quality while offering superior computational efficiency and linguistic accuracy for localized markets.

Products and solutions

KaniTTS (High-fidelity, real-time open-source speech synthesis model), Kyrgyz Whisper (Advanced automatic speech recognition model), Arabic-speaking AI Voice Model, Localized AI Assistant Integration (via AkylAI collaboration)

Unique value

Successfully bridges the gap between high-end generative AI and underrepresented languages (such as Kyrgyz and Arabic) through an open-source framework that matches the performance of closed-source enterprise solutions.

Target customer

Content creators, software developers, enterprise localization teams, and organizations focused on digital accessibility and language preservation.

Industries served

Artificial Intelligence, Media & Content Creation, Education & EdTech, Healthcare (Accessibility), Enterprise Software

Technology advantage

Proprietary optimization that reduced Kyrgyz Word Error Rate (WER) from 100% to 0.2%; high-performance inference capabilities that allow for real-time, expressive voice synthesis on standard hardware.

How they differentiate

Focuses on high-fidelity speech synthesis for underrepresented and low-resource languages (e.g., Kyrgyz, Arabic) with an open-source model (KaniTTS) that matches enterprise quality while maintaining high computational efficiency for real-time inference.

Main competitors

ElevenLabs, OpenAI (Whisper/TTS), Fish Audio, Cartesia

Key partnerships

Kyrgyz AI Research Institute, AkylAI (First Kyrgyz AI assistant), Innopolis University (Research collaboration), Kyrgyz Republic Ministry of Economy (CES Delegation partner)

Notable customers

AkylAI, Kyrgyz AI Research Institute, Independent Content Creators, Local Enterprise Developers

Major milestones

Unveiled KaniTTS at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Achieved 15,000+ downloads on Hugging Face within the first months of release, Developed the first open-source Arabic-speaking AI voice model built in Kyrgyzstan, Successfully reduced Kyrgyz speech recognition WER to 0.2% using Kyrgyz Whisper

Growth metrics

$330K ARR (as of 2025); 15,000+ downloads of KaniTTS on Hugging Face; Kyrgyz Word Error Rate (WER) reduced from 100% to 0.2%.

Market positioning

Specialized AI provider for localized speech technology and open-source high-performance TTS.

Geographic focus

Central Asia, Middle East, and Global (via Hugging Face community)

Patents and IP

No registered patents disclosed; utilizes a strategic open-source IP model to drive global adoption (15,000+ downloads on Hugging Face).

About Nursultan Bakashov

Co-founder of AkylAI (the first Kyrgyz AI assistant), Director of the Kyrgyz AI Research Institute, and a prominent educator in Data Science and Machine Learning in Central Asia. He led the development of the KaniTTS open-source model and has a background as a researcher at Innopolis University.

Official website: