The Tech Archived · VIDEO ESSAY

The Rise and Fall of Lernout & Hauspie The $10 Billion Speech Software Giant Built on Customers That

Lernout & Hauspie was once one of the most celebrated speech recognition technology companies in the world, valued at around $10 billion and seemingly destined to revolutionise how humans interacted with computers. But behind the impressive technology, ambitious promises and rapid rise was a corporate empire built on customers that didn't exist. This is the story of how a Belgian speech software giant attracted investors, convinced the world it was building the future of voice technology, and ultimately collapsed in one of the most extraordinary corporate scandals of the dot-com era. Discover how Lernout & Hauspie rose to prominence, how its financial deception unfolded, and how a company that appeared to be worth billions came crashing down.