US-based voice recognition company SoundHound Inc has entered into a definitive merger agreement with special purpose acquisition company, called Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co.
The combined company will be called SoundHound AI, Inc. and it plans to list publicly on the NASDAQ under the symbol SOUN following the closing of the transaction in Q1 of 2022. SoundHound says that the transaction values it at approximately $2.1 billion.
Started in 2005 by a group of Stanford graduates, SoundHound first developed a music recognition app, and Shazam rival called ‘SoundHound’, which has been downloaded over 315 million times worldwide.
In 2015, SoundHound expanded its offering by unveiling voice AI developer platform Houndify, which lets businesses across various industries integrate what it calls “intelligent conversational voice assistants” into their products.
In 2016, SoundHound launched Hound, which it describes as “the world’s most advanced voice search and assistant app”. It’s also the first consumer product to use the company’s Proprietary ‘Speech-to-Meaning’ recognition technology.
Additionally, in 2018, SoundHound, via Houndify, started to let brands and developers license its music search technology for use within their software interfaces, or to access via voice queries.
SoundHound says that its technology includes 227 patents granted or pending across speech recognition, natural language, machine learning, and more.
In addition, amongst this patented or patent pending tech are SoundHound’s fingerprinting and music recognition, broadcast and source identification, lyrics synchronization and sing/hum recognition tools.
The company’s technology is also currently available in 22 languages, with additional languages planned in the near future.
Today, SoundHound’s tech powers the voice recognition tools in products from brands including Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Pandora, Mastercard, Deutsche Telekom, Snap, VIZIO, KIA, Stellantis, and others.
SoundHound says that it processes over 100 million queries per month across its ecosystem of product partnerships and that its query volume doubled in the first half of 2021.
The firm projects to exceed 1 billion queries by the end of the year.
Prior the news of the SPAC merger, SoundHound, already had an “unprecedented industry alliance” in place with over $280 million of “prior investments” from a number of companies including Hyundai, Daimler AG / Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, Tencent, NVIDIA, Orange, Korea Telecom, Nomura, Midea, Naver, Line, Cota Capital, Sompo Japan, Walden VC, Kleiner Perkins, Translink Capital, The Private Shares Fund, Global Catalyst Partners, and others.
Following completion of the transaction, SoundHound says that it will retain its management team, which includes Keyvan Mohajer (Founder & CEO), Majid Emami (Co-Founder & VP of Engineering), James Hom (Co-Founder & VP of Products), Michael Zagorsek (COO), Nitesh Sharan (CFO), Tim Stonehocker (CTO), Kamyar Mohajer (VP Corporate Strategy & Expansion), Amir Arbabi (VP Business Development), Angeline Tucker (VP People & Culture), Warren Heit (VP Legal & General Counsel), and Lisa Flattery (VP Marketing).
“This transaction will accelerate our mission to voice-enable the world with conversational intelligence.”
Keyvan Mohajer, SoundHound
Keyvan Mohajer, CEO and Co-Founder, SoundHound, said: “We believe voice AI is poised to create the next major disruption in computing. Companies across industries recognize that voice AI is essential to customer retention, brand loyalty, market competitiveness, and future success.
“The growing demand for those companies to own their customer relationships and data have positioned SoundHound as a leading solution for voice assistants globally.
“This transaction will accelerate our mission to voice-enable the world with conversational intelligence.”
“Much like Apple disrupted and revolutionized human-machine interaction via the perfection of touch, SoundHound is poised to disrupt and revolutionize human-machine interaction via voice.”
Eric Ball, Archimedes
Eric Ball, Chairman of Archimedes, added: “Much like Apple disrupted and revolutionized human-machine interaction via the perfection of touch, SoundHound is poised to disrupt and revolutionize human-machine interaction via voice.
“SoundHound, with its breakthrough natural language technology and Collective AI approach, as well as its status as an independent voice AI provider, enables device makers around the world to incorporate conversational AI into their products and join a growing voice AI ecosystem, all while retaining full control of their brand.
“SoundHound is being embraced by an ever-increasing list of industry-leading clients, partners and investors and Archimedes is proud and thrilled to be the one to bring SoundHound to the public market.”
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies have become increasingly common fixture in the music and music technology sectors this year, from long-time Geffen Records President Neil Jacobson’s $200m IPO in New York, to Anghami’s NASDAQ plans via a SPAC merger.
Reservoir, meanwhile, floated on the NASDAQ via a merger with a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) in July.
Elsewhere, in Europe, a SPAC called I2PO launched in July with over $300 million at its disposal.Music Business Worldwide