Theo's Story
In February 2023, Theo was diagnosed with DIPG—a rare and aggressive brain tumor. One week later, he lost his voice.
Then, against all expectations, Theo regained his voice.
"We called it the magical summer. Every word felt like a treasure."
On October 31st, 2023, Theo passed away surrounded by love.
In the quiet that followed, a promise took shape: to give voice to children who cannot speak. To ease the suffering of families walking the same impossible path.
The Promise Becomes EchoBridge
Michael Kramer spent his career as a film composer, telling stories without words. After losing Theo, he began building TheOrator with AI as his co-pilot—driven not by technical ambition, but by love.
The concept: what if AAC could move at the speed of conversation? What if a non-verbal person could have an AI that understood their intent and helped them participate in real dialogue?
In January 2025, TheOrator debuted at the ATIA conference—the world's largest gathering of assistive technology professionals. It was recognized as the first real AAC product to harness generative AI for auditory scanners.
EchoBridge Inc. was incorporated in May 2025. By October, beta testing was underway.
Maddie's First Word
Maddie is Michael's niece—non-verbal and visually impaired. She became one of TheOrator's first users.
For nine months, she used it to participate in conversations in ways traditional AAC tools had never enabled. The AI learned her patterns, her preferences, her personality.
After nine months using TheOrator, Maddie said her first word.
This is why we build. Every voice matters. Every child deserves to be heard.