SAN JOSE, Calif. – Work is what you do, not where you go. With this reality, unwanted background noise has become one of the most common and frustrating distractions in today's work environment. To help users control unwanted noise in meetings--be it from barking dogs, lawn mowers, a car alarm or sirens--Cisco today announced its intent to acquire privately held BabbleLabs, headquartered in Campbell, CA.

BabbleLabs uses advanced AI (Artificial Intelligence) techniques to distinguish human speech from unwanted noise, enhancing the quality of communications and conferencing applications. BabbleLabs goes beyond existing noise suppression technology solutions by:

With the addition of BabbleLabs, Cisco will bring native noise removal capability to its entire Collaboration portfolio. Initially, Cisco will focus on integrating BabbleLabs to deliver a best-in-class audio experience to Webex Meetings users - wherever they are and however they connect via the Webex application (whether via a conference room or mobile device). A great user experience is also a secure user experience. BabbleLabs complements Cisco's focus on secure and private collaboration by processing noise removal 100 percent at the source where the noise happens (on the client side). In doing so, BabbleLabs aligns to strict data policies that underpin Cisco's culture of security by design.

Read the full announcement here.

Cisco Systems