15 (software engineer)
15 | |
|---|---|
 15 at Everfree Northwest in 2025 | |
| Born | 1998 or 1999 (age 26–27) |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, MS) |
| Occupations | Software engineer, computer scientist |
| Notable work | 15.ai |
| Twitch information | |
| Channel | |
| X information | |
| Handle | |
| Website | 15 |
15 is an American software engineer, computer scientist, and mathematician. He is best known for creating 15.ai, a text-to-speech website credited with popularizing AI voice cloning. The pseudonym 15 is a reference to his claim that 15 seconds of speech is sufficient to clone a voice up to human standards, which was corroborated by OpenAI in 2024.
15 graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he began developing the technology behind 15.ai as a freshman. The site launched in 2020 and went viral the following year, becoming one of the first mainstream applications of generative AI and the first of audio deepfake technology. In 2022, he exposed the NFT company Voiceverse for plagiarizing 15.ai to promote its partnership with voice actor Troy Baker.
An active member of the brony community, 15 has supported and founded various fandom-related projects.
Education and career
15 attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),[1][2][3] where he received degrees in physics, computer science, and mathematics. His thesis was on quantum pseudo-telepathy in nonlocal game theory.[‡ 1] As an undergraduate at MIT, he began developing voice AI technology,[1][4] having been inspired by Google DeepMind's WaveNet paper.[5] In 2019, he co-founded an analytics startup that was accepted into Y Combinator, after which he moved to Silicon Valley rather than pursue a planned PhD. He later left the company, and returned to his speech synthesis research. He was subsequently employed as chief technology officer at other YC companies.[‡ 1]
In March 2020, 15 released 15.ai as a free, non-commercial web application that allowed users to generate speech in the voices of fictional characters.[2] The website became an international viral sensation in 2021, with various news outlets reporting its role in popularizing voice cloning in memes and content creation,[6][7][8][9] and drew attention from AI commentators such as Andrew Ng[2] and Tyler Cowen.[10]
In January 2022, 15 revealed on X that the blockchain company Voiceverse had plagiarized from 15.ai. Within an hour of being confronted, Voiceverse confessed and stated that their marketing team had used 15.ai without proper attribution while rushing to create a technology demo. In response, 15 replied "Go fuck yourself"; the interaction went viral and garnered a large amount of support for the developer.[11]
In May 2026, 15 launched Artist Alley, a fandom online marketplace for physical and digital merchandise and commissions.[‡ 2][‡ 3]
In August 2026, 15 released 3place, a collaborative voxel art browser game inspired by wplace.[‡ 4]
Personal life
15 is a frequent attendee of furry and brony conventions[‡ 1] and has cited his personal interactions with artists as a motivator for founding Artist Alley.[‡ 2]
References
- 1 2 Kurosawa, Yuki (2021). "ゲームキャラ音声読み上げソフト「15.ai」公開中。『Undertale』や『Portal』のキャラに好きなセリフを言ってもらえる" [Game Character Voice Reading Software "15.ai" Now Available. Get Characters from Undertale and Portal to Say Your Desired Lines]. AUTOMATON (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- 1 2 3 Ng, Andrew (April 1, 2020). "Voice Cloning for the Masses". DeepLearning.AI. Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
- ↑ Lamorlette, Robin (January 25, 2021). "Insolite : un site permet de faire dire ce que vous souhaitez à GlaDOS (et à d'autres personnages de jeux vidéo)" [Unusual: A Site Lets You Make GLaDOS (and Other Video Game Characters) Say Whatever You Want]. Clubic (in French). Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
- ↑ Chandraseta, Rionaldi (January 21, 2021). "Generate Your Favourite Characters' Voice Lines using Machine Learning". Towards Data Science. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Temitope, Yusuf (December 10, 2024). "15.ai Creator reveals journey from MIT Project to internet phenomenon". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ↑ Clayton, Natalie (January 19, 2021). "Make the cast of TF2 recite old memes with this AI text-to-speech tool". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Morton, Lauren (January 18, 2021). "Put words in game characters' mouths with this fascinating text to speech tool". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Ruppert, Liana (January 18, 2021). "Make Portal's GLaDOS And Other Beloved Characters Say The Weirdest Things with This App". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Zwiezen, Zack (January 18, 2021). "Website Lets You Make GLaDOS Say Whatever You Want". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Cowen, Tyler (May 12, 2022). "The most underrated talent in AI?". Marginal Revolution. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ↑ Wright, Steve (January 17, 2022). "Troy Baker-backed NFT company admits to using content without permission". Stevivor. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
Primary sources
In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):
- 1 2 3 "About me". 15.dev. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
- 1 2 Lagopus, Andy (July 2, 2026). "Introducing ArtistAlley.Org, a Place for All Fan-Artists to Sell Their Work!". Zootopia News Network. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
- ↑ @fifteenai (May 28, 2026). "I should probably mention this now, by the way: I've decided to close http://15.dev indefinitely so I can focus on Artist Alley" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ @fifteenai (August 1, 2026). "Remember wplace from last year?" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).