Hume
Category: Voice / Speech AI
Voice AI research company providing the data and evaluation layer for emotionally intelligent voice AI (expression measurement, human feedback, simulation/eval), plus empathic speech APIs (EVI/Octave). Hume was founded in 2021. The company is led by Andrew Ettinger. Based in New York, USA. Team size: 58. Total funding raised: ~$74M–$80M (Seed + $12.7M Series A + $50M Series B; additional ~$17.8M 2025 extension reported). Latest round: Series B ($50M, Mar 2024). Key investors include EQT Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Aegis Ventures, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Metaplanet, Northwell Holdings, Comcast Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, Kindred Ventures, Wisdom Ventures.
- Founded
- 2021
- Headquarters
- New York, USA
- Team size
- 58
- Total funding
- ~$74M–$80M (Seed + $12.7M Series A + $50M Series B; additional ~$17.8M 2025 extension reported)
Value proposition
Provides AI with the ability to understand and respond to human emotional nuances, transforming human-computer interaction from robotic exchanges into empathetic, prosodic, and natural conversations.
Products and solutions
Empathic Voice Interface (EVI): A multimodal API that integrates large language models with emotional intelligence., Expression Measurement API: Tools to analyze vocal prosody, facial expressions, and text for over 50 dimensions of emotion., Custom Empathic Models: Tailored AI models for specific enterprise emotional intelligence needs., Hume Playground: A developer sandbox for testing and refining empathic AI interactions.
Unique value
Built on 'Semantic Space Theory,' a computational framework that maps hundreds of dimensions of human expression, moving beyond simple 'happy/sad' sentiment analysis to capture complex nuances like nostalgia, awe, or disappointment.
Target customer
Frontier AI labs and voice-native AI teams (data, eval, and human feedback); developers integrating EVI/Octave; enterprises and healthcare partners using expression measurement and research services.
Industries served
Healthcare & Wellness, Customer Experience (CX), Robotics & Virtual Assistants, Education & EdTech, Gaming & Entertainment
Technology advantage
Possesses a proprietary dataset of millions of human expressions and a first-of-its-kind 'eLLM' (Empathic Large Language Model) that processes vocal tone and rhythm (prosody) in real-time with ultra-low latency.
How they differentiate
Hume differentiates through its scientific foundation in 'Semantic Space Theory,' mapping over 50 dimensions of human expression (prosody, facial expression, text) rather than simple sentiment analysis. Its Empathic Voice Interface (EVI) is specifically optimized for low-latency, emotionally resonant human-computer interaction.
Main competitors
OpenAI (GPT-4o Voice), Uniphore, Deepgram
Key partnerships
Google DeepMind (Talent acquisition and IP licensing partner), Union Square Ventures & EQT Ventures (Lead Investors), Northwell Health (Healthcare implementation partner), Various GTM strategy firms for enterprise scaling
Notable customers
Northwell Health, Dot (AI Companion), Various Healthcare and Customer Experience developers
Major milestones
Launched Empathic Voice Interface (EVI) API (2024); EVI 3 (Jul 2025) and Octave TTS expansions, Raised $50M Series B led by EQT Ventures (Mar 2024); reported ~$17.8M Series B extension (Jul 2025), Google DeepMind non-exclusive licensing deal + hire of founder Alan Cowen and ~7 engineers (Jan 2026); Andrew Ettinger appointed CEO (Jan 2026) to lead independent company, Pivoted GTM toward data/evaluation infrastructure (Kairos, Human Feedback, Expression Measurement) while licensing research IP, Launched Real World VoiceEQ benchmark / leaderboards (mid-2026); named Fast Company Most Innovative AI Companies 2026
Growth metrics
LinkedIn/public estimates ~11–55 employees (band 11–50; ~55 listed). Leadership targets >$100M revenue in 2026 from research partnerships with frontier labs/enterprises. Named among Fast Company’s most innovative AI companies of 2026. Google DeepMind non-exclusive IP license + talent move (Jan 2026); company remains independent under CEO Andrew Ettinger.
Market positioning
Model-agnostic data, evaluation, and research-infrastructure provider for emotionally intelligent voice AI, with continued empathic speech APIs (EVI/Octave).
Geographic focus
Global (Headquartered in New York, USA)
Patents and IP
Proprietary IP includes the Empathic Voice Interface (EVI) architecture and specialized datasets; core IP is currently licensed non-exclusively to Google.
About Andrew Ettinger
Andrew Ettinger was appointed CEO of Hume AI in January 2026. He most recently served as Chief Revenue Officer at Appen, leading commercial operations for hyperscale AI labs and enterprises (data and evaluation). Earlier roles include leadership in data/AI infrastructure at Pivotal and Astronomer; sources credit teams he helped scale with over $2B in ARR. He is focused on Hume's research-services and voice-AI infrastructure expansion while the company continues as an independent entity after its Google DeepMind licensing/talent arrangement.
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Official website: https://hume.ai
