Nijta, a company headquartered in Lille, France, has emerged as a key player in the field of voice anonymization and privacy protection, particularly in the context of stringent data protection laws such as GDPR. Founded by CEO Brij Srivastava, who relocated to France for his PhD at INRIA, Nijta has developed AI-powered speech anonymization technology to assist organizations in complying with privacy regulations.
The company’s journey began within the Inria Startup Studio, a program designed to support entrepreneurs with PhD backgrounds. Since its inception, Nijta has secured €2 million in funding from various sources, including prominent investors such as French deep tech VC fund Elaia and Lille-based investment firm Finovam Gestion.
Nijta
Strong Grasp in Europe
Nijta’s technology has found a strong market in Europe, where GDPR’s strict data privacy laws have made companies increasingly aware of the need to protect voice data. This has led to a growing demand for Nijta’s services, especially in sectors where voice data is sensitive, such as healthcare and defense.
In healthcare, Nijta has collaborated on projects like Oky Doky, which aims to improve the handling of medical emergency calls. By anonymizing voices, Nijta ensures that speaker identities and personal information are removed from the data used for AI training, thus protecting patient privacy.
Beyond healthcare, Nijta’s technology has applications in various industries. For instance, in edtech, Nijta’s anonymization technology can be used to protect children’s voices while providing AI-driven feedback on pronunciation. This demonstrates the versatility and broad appeal of Nijta’s offerings.
Looking ahead, Nijta is exploring opportunities to expand into the B2C market, offering solutions for securing recorded messages and enabling real-time anonymization for secure communication. The company is also focused on R&D efforts to develop multilingual capabilities, with an eye on markets in Europe and Asia.
Despite its ambitious goals, Nijta remains a relatively small team, with seven members including Srivastava and his co-founders. However, the company has received external support, such as Business France, which helps reduce internationalization costs by facilitating business development in foreign markets.
Overall, Nijta’s strategic focus on voice anonymization and privacy protection, combined with its innovative technology and strategic partnerships, positions it as a key player in the evolving landscape of data privacy and AI.
