---
title: About Us
---

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- [How does it work?](https://alekassist.com/how-it-works)
- [About us](https://alekassist.com/about-us)
- [Get in touch](https://alekassist.com/contact-us)
- Help
  
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    - [Adding my ElevenLabs voice](https://alekassist.com/eleven-labs-guide)
    - [Tips for writing my background](https://alekassist.com/tips-for-writing-your-background)
    - [How to save my settings to the cloud](https://alekassist.com/alek-cloud-import-export-guide)
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#### As of 1st June 2026, Alek has shutdown. Thank you for your support!

## About us

![daniel\_circle](https://alekassist.com/hs-fs/hubfs/daniel_circle.png?width=327&height=327&name=daniel_circle.png)

My name is Daniel, and I am one of the co-founders of Alek.

In April 2023, my mum was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease (MND, also known as ALS). After 18 months her voice started to deteriorate, and I started looking in to what options were available to help her to continue to communicate. At the time, I was disappointed that a lot of the options didn't seem to take advantage of the latest improvements in technology.

![mum\_circle](https://alekassist.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mum_circle.png?width=489&height=489&name=mum_circle.png)

And so, in October 2024, my co-founder and I started building Alek. We thought that with the improvements in AI over the last few years that we could create an app with significantly improved auto-complete or suggested responses, and hopefully greatly improve the speed at which people with speech disabilities can communicate. Mum is our first and most passionate user.

 

![Partner logos gap@2x](https://alekassist.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Partner%20logos%20gap@2x.png?width=621&height=174&name=Partner%20logos%20gap@2x.png)

Since we started, we have been working with existing AAC users and a number of organisations in New Zealand & Australia to help make Alek possible. This includes the TalkLink Trust ([https://talklink.org.nz/](https://talklink.org.nz/)) and MND New Zealand ([https://mnd.org.nz/](https://mnd.org.nz/)). We are also very excited to be part of the Remarkable Launcher programme ([https://www.remarkable.org/](https://www.remarkable.org/)) which supports health tech start ups.

![mike\_mugshot-fotor-2025020613824](https://alekassist.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mike_mugshot-fotor-2025020613824.png?width=353&height=353&name=mike_mugshot-fotor-2025020613824.png)

This is Mike - my fellow co-founder. In his own words:

`"I co-founded Alek with Daniel after his mum was diagnosed with MND. Seeing the communication challenges first-hand was humbling and eye-opening. It made me realize how many people face barriers to expressing themselves every day, in ways that most of us take for granted.`

`For me, Alek was an opportunity to use my technical skills to make a real difference. But more than that, it has been a journey of listening, learning, and understanding the incredible resilience of the people we serve. Every day, I’m driven by the impact we can have - helping people communicate faster, more effectively, and with greater confidence."`

We are still very early in our journey, but we are committed to unlocking the potential that AI has to help anyone with a speech disability to talk faster and easier. If you are interested in being more involved or helping us transform how people can communicate, we would love to hear from you - [get in touch today](https://alekassist.com/contact-us?hsLang=en).

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