SoundHound AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOUN) (“SoundHound”), a global leader in voice artificial intelligence, today announced the availability of a whole suite of Edge and Cloud connectivity solutions that will allow brands to voice-enable almost any product, device, or service. Businesses looking to deploy voice AI can choose from options that match their available processing power and end-user needs. These include fully-embedded Edge technology (including a new EdgeLite option), exclusively Cloud-connected technology, or a hybrid combination of Edge+Cloud.

The new offerings mean that automakers, smart device manufacturers, and service providers can select for faster and more accurate response delivery, reduced manufacturing costs, and improved flexibility. Businesses embracing these connectivity options include car brands like Hyundai and prominent smart device manufacturers.

SoundHound’s selection of on-device Edge solutions allow brands adopting voice technology to grant their end-users greater levels of privacy by keeping data stored locally, so it never reaches the cloud. For cloud connectivity, SoundHound allows brands (and not third parties) full control over data privacy so that they can communicate transparently with their users about how information is managed.

“Voice technology is now a must for products destined for the consumer market, but that doesn’t mean it’s one-size-fits-all. Here we’re offering a range of connectivity options that deliver fast and accurate voice AI to meet different needs,” said James Hom, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at SoundHound. “The availability of more Edge options will allow businesses to store and protect sensitive data locally – which could help brands build customer trust. Our hybrid options help supercharge speed and accuracy. So whatever the use case or computing capacity, we can match it for optimal results.”

Available connectivity options:

• EdgeLite
  With this fully-embedded voice solution companies can process data locally without cloud-related data privacy concerns. Developers have access to natural language commands with less memory and CPU impact, a bundled wake word, and the ability to instantly update commands.
• EdgeLite+Cloud
  All the capabilities of EdgeLite, with the added flexibility to access the cloud to answer queries or push product updates.
• Edge
  Fully-embedded voice AI solution with as much Natural Language Understanding (NLU) capabilities to meet customer demand for hands-free convenience – without cloud-related data privacy concerns. Includes full accessibility to custom commands and the ability to create custom domains for proprietary on-device functionality.
• Edge+Cloud
  The capabilities of Edge with the flexibility and power of cloud connectivity. Allows companies to deliver the level of cloud connectivity that best matches their products and users.
• Cloud-Only
  Equips voice assistants with real-time data and information from the cloud for delivery of the most relevant responses to user queries, with no restrictions from device CPU and memory capabilities (while retaining ownership of your customer relationships and access to data and analytics).

SoundHound’s Edge+Cloud solutions use Active Arbitration™ technology to ensure that – regardless of the query – the voice assistant will always return the most accurate answer, fast. Before Active Arbitration, users had to settle for solutions that took several seconds to search one platform and then the other looking for a response. SoundHound's Active Arbitration technology delivers a query to the cloud and the embedded system simultaneously, which facilitates a faster, more accurate conversational experience.

“Increasingly, consumers are using their voices to interact with products and devices, and yet many brands are still struggling to settle on the best path when it comes to adopting voice AI,” says Keyvan Mohajer, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of SoundHound. “We’re providing this range of solutions to help any company meet customer expectations of speed and accuracy, with results delivered in the style of natural conversation. And with the right technology in place, voice quickly becomes a new channel to strengthen a brand’s relationship with its customers.”

From EdgeLite to Edge to Cloud-only, manufacturers can now use the same implementation software to provide any level of voice-enablement possible. For small device manufacturers and those looking for a smaller processing footprint, EdgeLite solutions allow them to add voice commands to make their equipment safer and easier to use—and the users of the product more efficient.

Our EdgeLite+Cloud and Edge+Cloud is ideal for circumstances where a cloud connection may not always be reliable—but where the voice user interface is still required to control the equipment or get critical information. Both solutions also use our Active Arbitration technology to get the best, most accurate results by sending the query to the Cloud and embedded system simultaneously.

EdgeLite+Cloud will be available in Q3 2022, with all other solutions available for purchase right now. Learn more here.

About SoundHound

SoundHound (Nasdaq: SOUN), a leading innovator of conversational intelligence, offers an independent voice AI platform that enables businesses across industries to deliver best-in-class conversational experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary Speech-to-Meaning^® and Deep Meaning Understanding^® technologies, SoundHound’s advanced voice AI platform provides exceptional speed and accuracy and enables humans to interact with products and services like they interact with each other—by speaking naturally. SoundHound is trusted by companies around the globe, including Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Pandora, Qualcomm, Netflix, Snap, Square, LG, VIZIO, KIA, and Stellantis. www.soundhound.com