Golden State Today

Ava, a company dedicated to making the world more accessible for Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, owes its origins to the innovative environment at UC Berkeley. Thibault Duchemin, who grew up as the only hearing member in an all-Deaf family, was motivated by his experiences translating for his family. He realized the need for affordable solutions that could bridge communication gaps.

Duchemin's sister Pauline faced challenges in social interactions due to her inability to follow group conversations despite being able to lip-read. Her aspiration to become a lawyer highlighted the lack of Deaf lawyers in France and inspired Duchemin to create an alternative to live transcription services.

Duchemin and his team developed a mobile app providing real-time captioning after consulting with other Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Supported by Berkeley's SkyDeck incubator and Big Ideas Contest, this app evolved into Ava, offering live captioning services through AI and trained captioners.

The Big Ideas program at Berkeley has been instrumental in supporting early-stage social impact projects since 2006. Phillip Denny, director of Big Ideas, emphasized the program's focus on projects with profound social impact. "We want to make sure that the projects we’re supporting can benefit the lives of individuals, of communities or of the planet," he said.

Participating in Big Ideas provided Duchemin's team with resources crucial for launching their project. Ten years later, Ava operates in the U.S. and France, with plans for global expansion. Duchemin aims to extend Ava's accessibility worldwide where interpreting resources are limited.

Pauline has become France’s first deaf lawyer using Ava's technology during her law school journey. She now often handles cases related to social issues and works with disabled clients.

Ava’s manifesto emphasizes that achieving total accessibility requires collective effort beyond technology alone. As a social enterprise, Ava prioritizes user needs as part of its mission towards a more accessible world.