We introduce MERaLiON-AudioLLM (Multimodal Empathetic Reasoning and Learning in One Network), the first speech-text model tailored for Singapore's multilingual and multicultural landscape. Developed under the National Large Language Models Funding Initiative, Singapore, MERaLiON-AudioLLM integrates advanced speech and text processing to address the diverse linguistic nuances of local accents and dialects, enhancing accessibility and usability in complex, multilingual environments. Our results demonstrate improvements in both speech recognition and task-specific understanding, positioning MERaLiON-AudioLLM as a pioneering solution for region specific AI applications. We envision this release to set a precedent for future models designed to address localised linguistic and cultural contexts in a global framework.
@article{arxiv.2412.09818,
title = {MERaLiON-AudioLLM: Bridging Audio and Language with Large Language Models},
author = {Yingxu He and Zhuohan Liu and Shuo Sun and Bin Wang and Wenyu Zhang and Xunlong Zou and Nancy F. Chen and Ai Ti Aw},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.09818},
year = {2025}
}