Popular Voice Actors Tomoko Kaneda, Omi Minami, and Others Join! NTT West's Voice AI Business "VOICENCE" Adds 5 New Voice Actors/Announcers

NTT West Corporation (President & CEO: Ryota Kitamura, hereinafter "NTT West") announced that five new voice actors/announcers, along with Amuleto Co., Ltd., which manages voice actors and actors, will join "VOICENCE," its voice AI business that protects the rights of performers such as voice actors, actors, artists, and comedians, and enhances the value of their voices, starting from May 8, 2026.

■ Expanding Voice AI Market and Challenges Surrounding "Voice Reliability"

Since NTT West launched its voice AI business "VOICENCE" in October 2025, the voice AI market has seen a rapid succession of startups emerging and major companies entering, leading to a rapidly changing market environment. On the other hand, the standardization of rights processing and usage rules is still in its early stages, and the industry as a whole continues to search for solutions. Currently, we are in the dawn of "Voice IP," where voice and speech patterns themselves are treated as intellectual property, and the methods of its utilization and protection are being questioned.

In this situation, NTT West, with an eye on establishing reliability and healthy development in the voice AI market, is working to balance the appropriate utilization and rights protection of voice IP through "VOICENCE." The service utilizes NTT West's proprietary blockchain technology to certify "voice authenticity," thereby protecting the rights of IP holders and enabling safe, secure, and highly reliable voice utilization.

■ Expansion of Voice IP and Application Areas with the Participation of 5 Voice Actors/Announcers

Previously, "VOICENCE" has partnered with actor Tetsuya Bessho, voice actors Natsuki Hanae and Nozomi Kasuga, and virtual YouTuber KizunaAI, promoting voice utilization in advertising and content domains.

Amidst these efforts, to further expand voice IP, five new voice actors, including Shugo Nakamura and Aya Uchida, as well as announcers like Sakiko Nojima, and Amuleto Co., Ltd., which manages voice actors and actors, will newly participate. This will make it possible to meet a wide range of needs, from narration to character voices, further expanding the possibilities of voice utilization in corporate and content production.

【VOICENCE Partners (titles omitted)】

New partners who will entrust their "voices" to VOICENCE:

Comment from Omi Minami:

"As this is a period of significant change, I have had many discussions with everyone about anxieties and concerns, and I decided to participate as a step towards unexpected and enjoyable new ventures. I hope that in a world where various things will continue to move, the world of expression will expand for both performers and listeners to enjoy."

Comment from Sakiko Nojima:

"I feel great potential in the ability to deliver the power and possibilities of 'voice' to more people through technology. I am very happy that my voice will reach society as a new value through VOICENCE, and I am truly excited about the future possibilities of the voice field!"

Comment from Takashi Saiki, President & CEO, Amuleto Co., Ltd.:

"Recently, there has been active discussion in the voice industry about how to deal with generative AI. Amuleto, which manages talent, strongly empathizes with VOICENCE's identity, which places importance on the appropriate utilization of voice IP and the protection of talent rights. By firmly protecting the creativity of voice actors and artists who play a part in the comprehensive art of numerous works, and by building new business models, we will contribute to the further development of the entire industry."

■ Future Developments

Going forward, we will develop multiple voice variations for the same IP to meet more diverse expression needs, and provide optimal voice matching according to the worldview and tone of each company and brand. Furthermore, by emphasizing dialogue and consensus building with IP holders, we will build a voice utilization environment that can be used with peace of mind.

VOICENCE Company will expand its application areas while enhancing the value of voice IP, and contribute to the sustainable growth of the voice AI market by balancing voice rights protection and healthy voice utilization.

■ What is VOICENCE?

VOICENCE is a new AI voice business launched by NTT West on October 27, 2025, with the establishment of the independent internal organization "VOICENCE Company." It reproduces the unique vocal characteristics from even a small amount of voice and produces content using technology that can output that voice in multiple languages. Through "Trust Technology," which is authenticity verification using blockchain, it protects valuable voice rights by attaching certificate data proving it is an authorized AI voice, thereby promoting the healthy utilization of voice AI.

■ Company Overview

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