Vancouver AI Company Alebex Ranks 8th in International Speech-to-Text Benchmark

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada’s Alebex AI, based in Vancouver, has developed speech-to-text (STT) technology that was recently ranked 8th in an internationally recognized accuracy benchmark ahead of speech models from Google, Microsoft, Nvidia and Amazon.

The result comes from Artificial Analysis’s AA-WER Streaming Index – Final Transcription, released on September 21^st, 2026. This index is an independent international benchmark which compares how accurately streaming speech systems transcribe spoken language, with hundreds of models and inference providers represented in its benchmarks on its Artificial Analysis leaderboard.

Streaming speech-to-text is one of the foundational technologies behind real-time voice AI. It converts live human speech into information AI systems can understand and act on, allowing people to interact with AI systems in real time. Alebex AI is the first Canadian company to appear in this category on the leaderboard, putting a Canadian-developed model alongside technology from some of the world’s largest AI companies.

Reacting to this news, Eric Zhao, CEO of Alebex AI said, “For us, the significance goes beyond the 8th-place ranking. The result demonstrates that a Canadian team can develop core AI technology that performs competitively in an international benchmark while building technical expertise, intellectual property and commercial capability at home. It also points toward something larger: the opportunity for Canadian-built voice infrastructure to become a platform that companies, developers and institutions can build on across industries.”

Rob Goehring, Executive Director of the AI Network of BC added, “Alebex’s achievement is a great example of the depth of AI talent and innovation we have here in British Columbia. A Vancouver team building core AI infrastructure that can compete alongside some of the largest technology companies in the world demonstrates what is possible in our ecosystem. Just as importantly, they are building the technology, intellectual property and commercial capability here in BC. Successes like this strengthen our entire ecosystem and reinforce British Columbia’s ability to build globally competitive AI companies.”

Alebex began its development process relying on international providers, but the absence of Canadian solutions led them to invest in developing more of that technology in Vancouver. The launch of their model is an important step toward greater Canadian AI capability and sovereignty, giving domestic organizations greater control over where their voice data is processed and how these systems are deployed.

The Alebex AI model independently benchmarked by Artificial Analysis is its first model release and the first publicly visible component of a broader effort to build real-time voice AI infrastructure in Canada. Alebex AI can support applications across education, retail, financial and professional services, logistics, hospitality, healthcare administration, customer operations and other enterprise environments. It can power AI receptionists, robotics, customer-support systems, appointment booking, admissions, sales and service applications as well as entirely new products where voice becomes a natural way for people to interact with software and business systems.

The project was incubated and accelerated through applied research at Vancouver’s Alexander Innovation Centre (AIC), with Alebex developing and commercializing the technology. AIC is building a Vancouver AI hub intended to connect this work with industry collaboration, applied research and education.

Alebex AI is committed to keeping the models they develop, and the data processed through their services stored in Canada, supported by clear privacy and data-handling practices. Developers can access Alebex STT through the public API to evaluate the technology and begin building applications on top of it. Learn at alebex.ai.

About Alebex AI: Alebex AI is a Vancouver-based artificial intelligence company developing infrastructure for real-time voice AI. Its technology spans the voice pipeline from audio processing and speech recognition to conversational intelligence, reasoning, safety systems and speech generation, enabling developers and organizations to build AI systems that can listen, understand, reason, respond and take action through natural voice interaction. Alebex is focused on building and commercializing this technology in Canada while supporting Canadian data sovereignty and broad adoption across industries.

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Eric Zhao Portrait

Eric Zhao, CEO of Alebex

Alebex Office in Vancouver

Alebex HQ in the Alexander Innovation Centre, Vancouver