Our story
When Lucas was 21, a brain aneurysm took his speech, his reading, and his writing. It did not take him. He is still the funniest person at the table, still particular about food, still loyal, still the brother who teases you until you laugh. What changed is the distance between what he means and what the world can hear.
Lucas built his own way across that distance. He points at photos. He opens a map and taps the place. He types a number into a calculator and turns the screen around. It works, mostly, and it is exhausting, and it only works with people who already know him.
Communication technology for people like Lucas has mostly been built to carry needs: hungry, tired, bathroom, help. Those matter. But a person is not a list of needs. Lucas wants to make the joke, disagree with the plan, tell you the restaurant was bad, and ask how your day went.
Selvo exists to close that gap. It learns how a person expresses themselves and offers them words that sound like their own, fast enough to keep up with a conversation, through pictures, context, and choices they control.
Emily Kenney, co-founder, and Lucas's sister
A person can lose language without losing who they are.
Selvo exists so that losing speech does not mean losing your voice. We help non-speaking adults communicate more easily, independently, and as themselves.
What Selvo is
- A companion.
- A translator between intention and expression.
- A tool the person holds and controls.
What Selvo is not
- A medical device.
- A caregiver's remote control.
- A chatbot that guesses.
Get early access
Selvo is coming to iPhone first. Join the list and we will email once, when it is ready for you.