Hume AI — Startup Profile
Emotionally intelligent voice AI grounded in science
HQ: New York, NY | Founded: 2021 | Employees: Not publicly disclosed | Stage: Venture-backed AI company | Website: https://www.hume.ai
About
Hume AI develops voice and emotion AI based on research into how people express and perceive emotion. Its developer tools include expressive speech generation and interfaces for building conversational systems.
The Take
Hume's research-led differentiation is an attempt to make voice agents feel more natural and responsive, not merely more accurate. Its long-term prospects depend on whether emotional intelligence improves retention and outcomes enough to offset model costs, privacy concerns, and intense competition in voice AI.
Key Metrics
- Founded: 2021
- Founders: Alan Cowen; John Beadle
- Latest signal: Hume announces $50M Series B and EVI
- Products: 3
Funding Rounds
- Round: $50M (2024-03) — EQT Ventures
- Round: $12.7M (2023-02) — Union Square Ventures
Key People
Key Competitors
- Incumbent platforms —
- Specialist startups —
Timeline Highlights
- 2023-02: Series A
- 2024-03: Series B
- 2021: Founded
Recent News
- Hume announces $50M Series B and EVI — Hume AI (2024-03-25)
The company announced funding to build emotionally intelligent voice AI and released its Empathic Voice Interface.
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