Former OpenAI researcher raises $40 million to construct extra empathetic audio AI

By Anna Tong

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – – A former OpenAI researcher has raised $40 million for a startup that may construct artificial-intelligence fashions that join emotionally with people through voice, the corporate stated on Monday.

The startup, WaveForms AI, is backed by Andreessen Horowitz and valued at $200 million, CEO Alexis Conneau instructed Reuters.

Conneau co-created the voice mode functionality on OpenAI’s GPT-4o mannequin, which when launched earlier this 12 months confirmed off the potential to reply in actual time with no delay, in addition to deal with interruptions – each hallmarks of lifelike conversations that needed to date eluded AI voice assistants.

After the launch, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted the phrase “her” on social media platform X, in what seemed to be a reference to the 2013 movie of the identical identify by Spike Jonze a few man who fell in love together with his AI assistant, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

OpenAI’s launch of GPT-4o turned controversial when Johansson accused the startup of copying her voice within the film. OpenAI stated the voice was not an imitation of Johansson and that the corporate used a distinct voice actress.

Conneau, together with WaveForms AI cofounder Coralie Lemaitre, stated the startup will use the funding to coach new audio AI fashions that remedy the issue of creating voice dialog with an AI bot really feel indistinguishable from a human. He added that audio is the important thing to creating AI interactions really feel “deeply human.”

“Audio … conveys feelings and gives emotional responses again to customers,” he stated.

Conneau stated the corporate plans to construct a shopper software program product that may give attention to the emotional connection between the consumer and the AI, however declined to supply extra particulars. 

“The thought is to create new, extra immersive experiences with AI, ones that really feel extra pleasurable,” he instructed Reuters. “There are numerous corporations proper now which might be specializing in superintelligence, however not a lot on the standard of the human-computer interplay.”