[Trainer-talk] Fwd: Ai Squared and GW Micro Join Forces - Assistive Technology Leaders Merge to Expand Opportunities for Computer Users Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

[Raul A. Gallegos]

FYI


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Ai Squared and GW Micro Join Forces - Assistive Technology
Leaders Merge to Expand Opportunities for Computer Users Who Are Blind
or Visually Impaired
Date: 	Thu, 01 May 2014 14:00:03 -0400
From: 	jeremy at gwmicro.com
To: 	gw-info at gwmicro.com



Ai Squared and GW Micro Join Forces - Assistive Technology Leaders Merge
to Expand Opportunities for Computer Users Who Are Blind or Visually
Impaired

Manchester, Vermont and Fort Wayne, Indiana (May 1, 2014) - Ai Squared
<http://www.aisquared.com>, the maker of ZoomText and sitecues
<http://www.sitecues.com>; and GW Micro <http://www.gwmicro.com>, the
creator of Window-Eyes, have merged into one company. With this merger,
the companies will combine their talents to better assist computer users
who are blind or visually impaired.

ZoomText is the world's number one screen magnifier and text-to-speech
software package that allows people who are visually impaired to use a
computer with ease. Window-Eyes is a popular screen reader that enables
people who are blind to be fully independent on the computer by
translating visual information into speech and/or Braille.

"Our mission is to provide a full family of computer accessibility
solutions for users who are low vision or blind, whether they access
digital information via their desktop, the web or their mobile device,"
said David Wu, CEO of Ai Squared. "Earlier this year, we commercially
launched sitecues, a product which enables website owners to build
accessibility tools right into their websites. Today's merger with GW
Micro rounds out our mantra of 'We've got accessibility covered' - with
our combined forces, we can now deliver an even wider range of computer
access solutions."

The need for assistive technology continues to grow. According to the
World Health Organization, over 285 million people in the world are
considered visually impaired; 39 million of those are blind, and 246
million have moderate to severe visual impairments. "The merger of Ai
Squared and GW Micro brings together two companies that offer great
solutions for the millions of Microsoft customers around the world who
are blind or visually impaired," said Rob Sinclair, Chief Accessibility
Officer at Microsoft.

"We are also delighted that Ai Squared will continue to develop and
support the Window-Eyes for Office Offer as many of our customers rely
on this screen reading solution to enable access to Windows, Office and
other Microsoft products," Sinclair said.

Dan Weirich, Co-founder of GW Micro and now Vice President at Ai
Squared, said he is thrilled to incorporate Window-Eyes into the Ai
Squared product family.

“It’s a natural fit,” Weirich said. “Combining our companies will
strengthen Ai Squared’s global presence in the assistive technology
industry, allowing us to serve even more customers.”

Weirich noted that many customers using web and computer accessibility
tools inevitably progress further along the visual impairment spectrum
during their lifetime.  As a result, they will require more advanced
assistive technology as their needs change. With the merger, Ai Squared
will be in a better position to assist those customers, developing
products that provide a seamless transition and user experience as
customers adapt to their changing vision.

Ai Squared will continue to offer Window-Eyes and its related products
as they were previously offered by GW Micro. In addition, a free and
fully featured version of Window-Eyes will continue to be available via
the Window-Eyes Offer for Users of Microsoft Office as part of the
recently announced partnership with Microsoft and GW Micro. The GW Micro
team will remain in Indiana as part of the Ai Squared team, which is
headquartered in Vermont.

About Ai Squared: Ai Squared (www.aisquared.com
<http://www.aisquared.com>) has been the worldwide leader in assistive
technology solutions for people who are visually impaired for over 20
years. The product line is available in over 20 languages and sold in 45
countries through a network of over 350 global distributors. Ai
Squared's screen magnification and screen-reading products dramatically
improve a computer's usability and friendliness for users who are blind
or low vision, raising their level of productivity, satisfaction, and
independence. The family of Ai Squared products includes ZoomText,
ZoomText Large-Print Keyboard, ZoomText ImageReader, ZoomText Mac,
Window-Eyes, sitecues, the ZoomReader iOS app, and the ZoomContacts iPad
app.

About GW Micro: GW Micro, Inc. (www.gwmicro.com
<http://www.gwmicro.com>) has been a trusted pioneer in the assistive
technology industry since 1990; it has led with innovative,
customer-driven solutions, and the GW Micro team has always been proud
of its description as the Voice of Vision.