Fluency Voice a UK based provider of voice recognition services raised $7.4 million. Jeez, voice recognition is really a technology that has never fulfilled expectations and everyone from IBM to Microsoft already distributes solutions with (unfortunately limited) use. But Fluence Voice seems to have found an interesting niche:

Fluency VoiceRunner� is an award-winning platform
for automating call centre services using configurable speech recognition
applications.

VoiceRunner� offers specific advantages for systems
integration partners and business customers, allowing them to rapidly
develop scalable speech recognition applications that reduce call centre
costs and enhance customer service:

• Pre-built Applications - Availability of ready-to-deploy
  application suites supporting specific vertical industries, such as
  travel, banking and local government


• Highly Configurable - Low cost of ownership through
  use of graphical drag-and-drop configuration and management tools, allowing
  easy use by non-technical administrators


• Flexible architecture - Interoperable with all main
  speech engines, IVR platforms and gateways, providing clients with total
  flexibility for future developments


• Rapid Development - component-based approach and
  availability of pre-built application component library allows faster
  and more flexible development by existing programmers


• Open Standards - Architecture designed to work across
  standards such as VoiceXML, SALT, Java and .NET