The Talkers

The book "DE SPRAAKMAKERS" tells the hallucinatory story of Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie, two entrepreneurs who consciously break the rules and take risks to conquer the world market.
The insight that speech will improve the relationship between humans and computers is the cement and foundation of their Westhoek technology company, Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products (LHSP). For years, this company piled up losses, but still managed to raise more than 3 billion francs in capital. Journalist Piet Depuydt followed the trail of this money. He exposed the network of relationships behind both entrepreneurs, analyses their strategy and working methods; and gauges the real value of their technology, which is labelled as futuristic.