Rylo just raised $85 million to change how Deaf and hard-of-hearing people communicate. The company, formerly called Nagish, is growing fast. It now has over $100 million in total funding.

Rylo builds AI tools that make phone calls and conversations easier to follow. Its app offers real-time captioning, turning speech into text instantly. It also converts typed messages into spoken audio, helping users speak back.

Traditional relay services rely on human operators to repeat what each person says. This method slows down conversations and hurts privacy. Rylo removes the middleman by using AI. Calls are captioned live without a third party listening.

One big problem Rylo tackles is the shortage of American Sign Language interpreters. In the U.S., about 10,000 certified ASL interpreters serve roughly 500,000 users. This leaves many people without reliable access during important moments like doctor visits or legal meetings.

From Captioning to Sign Language Translation and Beyond

Rylo has big plans for the new funding. It wants to expand beyond phone captioning into a full suite of AI-powered communication tools. This includes sign language translation, workplace accessibility features, and fraud detection.

Last year, Rylo acquired Sign.mt, a company focused on real-time sign language translation. This helps Rylo develop Rylo Sign, an AI platform that translates between spoken languages and signed languages. It supports dozens of languages, helping bridge communication gaps worldwide.

Rylo’s CEO, Tomer Aharoni, says the company was created because the industry ignored Deaf users for too long. They were stuck with outdated relay services that no one wanted to use. Rylo aims to build tools people actually rely on and enjoy.

Building a Reliable, Private Communication Experience

Rylo’s technology is FCC-certified and free to users. It focuses on privacy and accuracy. The app captions phone calls and in-person talks without sharing conversations with outsiders.

New features coming soon include sentiment analysis to help users understand tone. Speaker identification will clarify who is talking. There’s also network improvements and real-time fraud detection to keep calls safe.

These tools aim to make communication more natural and confident. Rylo wants to give Deaf and hard-of-hearing people the same smooth phone call experience hearing people take for granted.

The company operates from New York and Tel Aviv and serves millions of users. Its mission is clear: make accessible communication seamless and dependable for everyone who needs it.

With this new funding, Rylo is set to grow quickly. It will expand its user base and add features that improve daily life for millions of people with hearing loss.

Simply put, Rylo is building the future of communication for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community using the latest AI technology.