Hume AI
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
Hume AI firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hume AI
- Legal name
- Hume AI, Inc.
- Website
- https://hume.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hume AI industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Voice AI Platform
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration) (HDAAAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Contact Center Speech AI (agent assist, IVR automation) (HDAAAFAL), On-Device Speech & Audio AI (wake word, ASR, enhancement) (HDAAAJAF), Voice Assistants & Voice UI (VUI) (HDAAAFAD)
Keywords
Where Hume AI is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Hume AI business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- API subscriptions and usage-based pricing: Tiered subscriptions (free, Starter, Creator, and Pro/Enterprise tiers ranging from $3 to $500/month) plus pay-as-you-go metered usage of TTS and emotion APIs at $0.0X/min with volume discounts. Recurring SaaS plus consumption-based revenue mix.
- Pay-as-you-go API consumption: Metered usage of EVI speech-to-speech and Octave TTS endpoints billed per minute/character beyond tier allotments, with volume discounts for high-traffic applications.
- Enterprise research and data services: Custom research partnerships providing voice datasets, annotations, evaluation tools, and workflows for frontier AI labs and AI-first enterprises; includes multi-year, 8-figure enterprise contracts (multiple signed in January 2026) and projects >$100M in revenue for 2026.
- Technology licensing royalties: Non-exclusive licensing of Hume's emotional voice recognition and expression-measurement technology to large platforms such as Google DeepMind, plus continued licensing of technology to other AI labs and clients.
- Freemium self-serve access: Free tier for non-commercial evaluation and prototyping; designed to funnel developers into paid Creator and Enterprise plans.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free tier for hobbyists and evaluation |
| Subscription | Monthly | Paid subscriptions from $3 to $500 per month |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Pay-as-you-go usage with volume discounts |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise custom plans |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels10 records
Hume AI product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hume AI builds voice AI foundation models with embedded emotional intelligence. Its core offerings are the Empathic Voice Interface (EVI) speech-to-speech model, the Octave LLM-based text-to-speech system, the open-source TADA TTS model, and supporting APIs for emotion measurement, human-feedback evaluation, and curated multilingual voice training datasets.
Product overview
Hume AI offers an integrated platform-plus-modules architecture for building voice-first AI applications with emotional intelligence. The platform consists of three primary product pillars: (1) the Empathic Voice Interface (EVI), a closed-source speech-to-speech foundation model that detects 48+ emotional expressions and supports real-time empathic conversations; (2) Octave, a closed-source LLM-based text-to-speech system with voice design, voice cloning, and voice conversion capabilities; and (3) TADA, an open-source TTS system for on-device deployment. The platform is augmented by supporting modules including the Expression Measurement API for emotion detection, Human Feedback API (Study Runner) for human evaluations, Training Data library with curated multilingual speech datasets, and the Hume MCP Server for developer integration. All products are accessible via a unified REST/WebSocket API at api.hume.ai with SDKs for TypeScript, Python, .NET, Swift, and React, and integrations with Twilio, LiveKit, Pipecat, Vapi, Agora, and Vercel AI SDK.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- EVI (Empathic Voice Interface): Hume's closed-source LLM speech-to-speech system with interruptibility, backchanneling, expressive instruction following, and external LLM compatibility.
- Octave
- TADA
- OCTAVE (Omni-Capable Text and Voice Engine)
Products and services
- Empathic Voice Interface (EVI)
- Octave
- TADA (Text-Acoustic Dual Alignment)
- Expression Measurement API
- Human Feedback API (Study Runner)
- Training Data / Data Library
- Enterprise Research and Data Services
Companies that use Hume AI
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments11 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Hume AI technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration17 records
AI capability13 records
Feature8 records
Hume AI partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Google DeepMindflagshipOn January 22, 2026, Google DeepMind signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Hume AI; co-founder/CEO Alan Cowen and approximately seven top engineers joined Google to enhance Gemini's voice capabilities. Hume AI continues operating independently under new CEO Andrew Ettinger and continues licensing its technology to other AI firms and clients.
- WebAppCloudscoreWebAppClouds built a voice AI phone support solution called EVI with Hume to replace traditional IVR menus for multi-location brands, supporting proactive outreach and inbound support across multiple languages.
- GAFcoreGAF integrated Hume's text-to-speech technology into its training programs and marketing voiceovers to deliver consistent, high-quality audio for thousands of contractors, retailers, and employees.
- AudioStackcoreAudioStack integrated Hume's emotionally intelligent voices into its enterprise audio production platform used by Publicis, Omnicom, iHeartMedia, and Dentsu, enabling broadcast-ready ad and branded audio 10x faster at up to 80% lower cost.
- JourneecoreJournee integrated Hume's EVI into its "Human AI" platform serving global brands. Hume replaced OpenAI, Deepgram, ElevenLabs, and Langfuse, halving Journee's costs and delivering 140ms–1.3s latency for AI agents serving BMW, Shiseido, Macy's, H&M, and Clinique.
- Inception PointcoreInception Point partnered with Hume to power 50+ AI virtual personalities producing 5,000+ shows and 3,000+ episodes weekly at $1 per episode, reaching 11 million listeners and expanding into short-form video and interactive experiences.
- SambaNovaflagshipSambaNova and Hume co-developed a custom inference stack enabling Octave 2's sub-200ms latency. SambaNova hosts Hume's EVI 4 Mini and Octave 2 on its SambaCloud platform, supporting 11 languages, real-time translation, and emotional expressiveness for global enterprise deployments.
- CoconotecoreCoconote integrated Hume EVI to power its voice chat feature, transforming static notes into dynamic conversations for neurodiverse students and professionals. Coconote ranks in the Top 50 Education apps on Apple's App Store.
- Reality DefendercoreReality Defender partnered with Hume to enhance voice synthesis threat detection, build datasets, and develop proactive defenses against sophisticated synthetic voice threats for enterprise and government customers.
- Niantic SpatialcoreNiantic Spatial, in partnership with Snap Inc. (Spectacles hardware) and Hume AI (voice), built location-aware AI companions blending Niantic's Large Geospatial Model, Snap's AR glasses, and Hume's EVI for natural, emotionally intelligent conversation.
- Snap Inc.coreSnap Inc. provides Spectacles AR glasses hardware in a three-way partnership with Hume AI and Niantic Spatial to deliver emotionally intelligent, spatially aware AI companions.
- AnthropicflagshipHume AI integrated its Empathic Voice Interface (EVI) with Anthropic's Claude AI models to deliver emotionally intelligent voice interactions. The collaboration has powered over 2 million minutes of AI voice conversations; Claude is also listed as a natively supported supplemental LLM in EVI configurations.
- TwiliocoreDocumented integration for telephony: Hume EVI supports inbound phone calling via Twilio, with Twilio metadata fields (call_sid, account_sid, from/to numbers, geo data) surfaced through chat webhooks.
- LiveKitcoreDocumented integration for real-time voice infrastructure; LiveKit is listed as a supported integration for embedding Hume's voice models into live applications.
- VapicoreDocumented integration enabling Vapi-powered AI agent platforms to use Hume's voice models for emotionally intelligent conversational agents.
- PipecatcoreDocumented integration with Pipecat's open-source framework for building real-time, multimodal conversational AI agents on Hume's voice models.
- Vercel AI SDKcoreDocumented integration letting Vercel AI SDK applications directly access Hume's voice models for in-app voice experiences.
- AgoracoreDocumented integration with Agora's real-time engagement platform for embedding Hume's voice models in live audio applications.
- The Hume InitiativecoreNonprofit founded by Hume AI (thehumeinitiative.org) that develops ethical guidelines for empathic AI. Hume embeds these guidelines into its contractual terms of service as a differentiator for enterprise trust.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Hume AI competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ElevenLabs: Closest direct competitor in LLM-based TTS and voice cloning; Octave has been benchmarked head-to-head against ElevenLabs Voice Design in blind studies. ElevenLabs is the market-leading voice AI startup serving very similar use cases (content creation, localization, agent voice).
- PlayHT: AI voice generation platform with voice cloning and an LLM-based TTS stack, targeting similar content creation, agent, and enterprise use cases as Octave and EVI. Operates as a direct SMB/enterprise alternative to Hume.
- Resemble AI: Voice cloning and TTS provider offering real-time voice synthesis, emotion control, and deepfake detection; overlaps with Hume on expressive TTS, voice cloning, and the Reality Defender-style synthetic voice defense use case.
- WellSaid Labs: Enterprise-focused AI voice platform for training, marketing, and corporate communications — a direct comparator to Hume's GAF/AudioStack use cases. Positions as a studio-quality alternative to ElevenLabs for branded content.
- Speechify: Consumer and enterprise TTS product with voice cloning and a creator marketplace; competes with Octave in content creation and accessibility verticals and shares Hume's freemium-to-enterprise GTM motion.
- Lovo AI: Generative AI voice platform with voice cloning, emotion control, and multilingual TTS; closest peers in feature set to Octave and EVI for marketing, e-learning, and entertainment customers.
Broad incumbents
- OpenAI: Provides the Realtime API and GPT-4o voice capabilities, which Hume positions against in conversational voice. Journee explicitly replaced OpenAI with Hume EVI, indicating overlap but OpenAI is a much broader foundation model platform.
- Google Cloud (Gemini Live / Vertex AI Speech): Operates the Gemini Live voice API and Google Cloud Text-to-Speech, competing directly with EVI and Octave; Google DeepMind is also Hume's licensing partner, making it both a customer and indirect competitor for the same workloads.
- Microsoft Azure AI Speech: Enterprise TTS and conversational AI offering within the Azure cloud platform, providing neural voices, custom voice, and real-time speech services to large enterprises in direct competition with Hume's enterprise voice stack.
Emerging players
- AssemblyAI: Speech-to-text and audio intelligence API provider that has expanded into real-time and voice agent capabilities; competes with the EVI stack in the speech understanding and conversational AI layer for developers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hume AI social profiles
Digital presenceHume AI compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Hume AI financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hume AI leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Hume AI funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hume AI M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hume AI
What does Hume AI do?
Hume AI builds voice AI foundation models with embedded emotional intelligence. Its core offerings are the Empathic Voice Interface (EVI) speech-to-speech model, the Octave LLM-based text-to-speech system, the open-source TADA TTS model, and supporting APIs for emotion measurement, human-feedback evaluation, and curated multilingual voice training datasets.
Is Hume AI a public or private company?
Hume AI is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Hume AI founded?
Hume AI was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hume AI based?
Hume AI is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hume AI make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. API subscriptions and usage-based pricing is the primary driver. The others are pay-as-you-go API consumption, enterprise research and data services, technology licensing royalties and freemium self-serve access.
Who are Hume AI's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ElevenLabs, PlayHT, Resemble AI, WellSaid Labs, Speechify and Lovo AI. Broad incumbents are OpenAI, Google Cloud (Gemini Live / Vertex AI Speech) and Microsoft Azure AI Speech. AssemblyAI is listed as an emerging player.
Does Hume AI have an API?
Yes. Hume AI offers a comprehensive public REST and WebSocket API at api.hume.ai for its Empathic Voice Interface (EVI) speech-to-speech model and Octave text-to-speech model. The API includes endpoints for voice creation/management (POST /v0/tts/voices), text-to-speech synthesis (streaming JSON, streaming file, JSON, file), voice conversion, EVI chat WebSocket, control plane for active chat orchestration, configs/prompts/tools management, and chat history/event retrieval. Authentication is via X-Hume-Api-Key header. The API supports webhooks for chat_started, chat_ended, and tool_call events. SDKs are available for TypeScript, Python, .NET, Swift, and React. MCP (Model Context Protocol) server is available for client integration from tools like Cursor and Claude Desktop. Developer documentation is at dev.hume.ai.
What industry is Hume AI in?
Hume AI's product category is Voice AI Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAFAC, Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration), with a secondary code of HDAAAFAL, Contact Center Speech AI (agent assist, IVR automation). Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7372.