Software company Lattice Voice Technologies is to continue the development of its translation products after securing a new investment.

The company, which has designed its products to be used by the emergency services, received £150,000 from venture capitalist YFM Group.

The funding, which will also finance its initial sales campaign, was provided by YFM’s Yorkshire and Humber Equity Fund.

The company was introduced to the fund after it approached Connect Yorkshire, a technology and life sciences consultancy, for advice on how to fund the growth of its business.

YFM’s investment was managed by David Livesley, who said the group was impressed with Lattice Voice’s strong management team with a unique product targeting a niche market.

York-based Lattice Voice’s product is First Contact, which is used by organisations to communicate with people who do not speak English. It will be initially aimed at the police, ambulance, fire and coastguard services.

The company will also be offering a portable version of the product that integrates with mobile computing devices such as Blackberrys, PDAs or smart phones. It has also developed a version that allows communication between speakers of different languages in offices.