Student startup puts AI tool to work for speech pathologists

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ PhD students Wei Bo and Shuwei Hou are using artificial intelligence to give speech-language pathologists (SLPs) something they desperately need: more time with their patients.

Their startup, SATE (Speech Annotation and Transcription Enhancer), took first place in the University at Buffalo’s Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition, earning $25,000 in startup funding and $40,000 in business services.

SATE uses AI to automate the time-consuming process of transcribing and annotating speech samples—a task that currently requires SLPs to spend hours listening, typing and calculating key language metrics. With SATE, recordings can be processed and analyzed in a fraction of the time, providing faster, more accurate data for diagnosis and treatment.

The idea grew from Bo’s early experiences at UB, when she noticed that some students received extra time for exams. After learning it was because some students had speech or language disorders, she partnered with Hou and the two put their computer science skills to work to develop SATE.

Working with SLPs at UB’s AI Institute for Exceptional Education, Bo and Hou designed SATE with both precision and responsibility in mind. The tool uses several layers of AI—one model filters out background noise, another identifies speakers and a third transcribes and annotates the speech—while ensuring that data are stored securely and results are transparent.

“Explainable AI is key,” says Hou. “We don’t just want a tool that works—we want one that users can understand and trust. Our model is designed to be fair and unbiased across different populations.”

Currently being tested at the UB Hearing and Speech Clinic, SATE plans to conduct a pilot program with Buffalo Public Schools after the team refines the tool. Looking ahead, Bo and Hou envision educational and consumer versions as well—one to help train future speech-language pathologists and another to support parents and caregivers tracking children’s language development.

Bo and Hou credit UB’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with helping them translate their research into a viable business. “The Panasci competition was transformative,” says Hou. “It helped us refine our algorithms, our business plan and our vision” for how AI can make a real impact.

For Bo, the experience reinforced UB’s strength as a place where technology and purpose meet. “UB has been incredible in supporting student ideas,” she says. “This process pushed us to grow as founders and as individuals.”