The recent news of Nvidia and SoftBank’s stakes in SoundHound AI (SOUN) through 13F filings has catapulted the stock over 60%, leaving retail aficionados scrambling for more information. However, stock market veterans would remember Nvidia’s early investment in the company back in 2017, participating in a $75 million funding round.
This success, though, did not materialize overnight. SoundHound has been around for two decades, with its origins tracing back to CEO Keyvan Mohajer’s Ph.D. research at Stanford University. His 20-year vision starkly contrasts with the short-term investment cycles favored by venture capitalists, leading to remarkable innovations.
Mohajer recounted the company’s pioneering development of AI as a platform, Speech-to-Meaning in voice AI, and the handling of complex conversations with groundbreaking speed and accuracy, emphasizing the company’s 270+ globally registered patents as a testament to its innovation.
Apart from notable investors like Nvidia, Samsung, and Tencent, SoundHound has attracted attention from SoftBank, solidifying its position as a leading AI provider with the potential to drive real disruption across industries.
SoundHound’s products are making significant strides in the restaurant and automotive industries. The company recently partnered with Jersey Mike’s Subs to launch a voice AI ordering system at 50 locations and implemented its Voice Assistant with integrated ChatGPT with Stellantis’ brand, DS Automobiles, across numerous languages and countries.
Furthermore, SoundHound’s technology seems indispensable in the rapidly growing spatial computing market, especially with the recent development of the Vision Pro headset and Quest 3, signaling the next generation of hardware.
Mohajer expressed his confidence in the company’s standing, saying, “SoundHound is a major force and leading innovator in AI and has been for nearly two decades. We feel like we’ve earned the recognition we’re getting.”
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