SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 10, 2026, 14:08 PDT
SoundHound AI dropped 7.8% Friday, with shares finishing at $8.88—down from Thursday’s $9.63—after its first-quarter revenue hit an all-time high. Investors still balked at ongoing worries about the company’s cash burn, profit margins, and spending tied to broader acquisitions.
This has become key, as the voice-AI firm faces pressure to show that surging sales can actually deliver lasting profit—not just inflate top-line numbers. Judging by the market’s response, investors seem less convinced about SoundHound’s ability to juggle multiple new contracts, bankroll additional AI model development, and still make meaningful progress toward the black.
SoundHound is pushing to redefine itself, moving past just speech recognition and toward what it calls “agentic AI” — software designed for more complex, multi-step jobs that require less guidance from people. CEO Keyvan Mohajer told analysts that what customers want now is a true AI partner, “not an API.” The comment nods to both big-name model makers and upstart rivals eyeing the same turf. The Motley Fool
SoundHound’s first-quarter revenue climbed 52% year over year to $44.2 million. The company’s GAAP gross margin slipped, dropping to 31.1% from last year’s 36.5%. Net cash usage from operating activities increased to $26.3 million, and adjusted EBITDA posted a loss of $26.7 million.
SoundHound “started the year strong,” Mohajer said, pointing to an 88% jump in core automotive and IoT AI vertical revenue—if you back out acquisitions. The company has landed a seven-figure deal with a Japanese carmaker, expanded operations in South America, and reached an agreement to put its voice AI in Walmart’s ONN TV line. SEC
The company held steady on its full-year 2026 revenue target, sticking with the $225 million to $260 million range. As of the end of March, SoundHound reported $216 million in cash and equivalents, no debt. The numbers are still preliminary, the company noted, and will remain so until it files its 10-Q.
Now comes LivePerson. In April, SoundHound struck a deal to acquire the enterprise conversational-AI company, putting an equity price tag of $43 million on the target. The transaction, according to SoundHound, carries an implied enterprise value of $250 million and is projected to close in the back half of 2026, pending necessary approvals and conditions.
Management is projecting $350 million to $400 million in revenue for the merged company by 2027, counting on at least $100 million to come specifically from LivePerson’s client base. They also peg the revenue opportunity from their combined customers at $500 million. LivePerson’s strength is digital messaging; SoundHound specializes in voice AI. The thesis: clients are likely to want both capabilities integrated into a single system.
Some analysts are still backing the stock, but they’re less bullish than before. Michael Latimore at Northland Securities dropped his price target to $12, down from $14, though he’s holding onto his Outperform call. Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson did the same—target down to $12 from $14, sticking with a Buy, according to TipRanks.
SoundHound is turning to OASYS—a platform it rolled out May 5—claiming it can build, test, and fine-tune AI agents for everything from smartphones to kiosks, TVs, cars, and chat applications. According to Hayley Sutherland, research manager for conversational AI at IDC, these sorts of platforms are gaining traction as companies ramp up AI governance and guardrails.
SoundHound isn’t just up against other voice-AI firms. Investors have also been sizing it up against companies like Twilio, which focuses on customer engagement and communications. Twilio’s stronger numbers earlier this month set the bar higher for the whole voice and AI automation group, pushing up expectations.
The risks are straightforward. SoundHound admits the LivePerson acquisition could drag out, stumble on approval hurdles, or run into bigger integration headaches than hoped. Issues flagged include regulatory sign-off, potential customer fallout, keeping key staff, and the pace of merging LivePerson’s tech stack. Demand isn’t the problem right now. Execution is.
