NEW YORK, Jan 12, 2026, 11:51 EST — Regular session
SoundHound AI shares swung on Monday after an upbeat note from H.C. Wainwright put the stock back in motion following CES chatter. The Nasdaq-listed stock was up about 0.3% at $11.79 in late morning trade after earlier rising as much as 9.4%. 1
The move matters because SoundHound AI has become a quick-read proxy for risk appetite in smaller “voice AI” names, where single headlines can move the tape. The company sells voice and conversational AI software to businesses, including in automotive and other customer-facing settings. 2
This week’s CES spillover is landing on a stock that traders treat like a sentiment gauge: contract wins help, but so do demos, ratings notes and anything that hints at near-term revenue.
One spark on Monday came from India’s Ultraviolette, which showcased an AI voice assistant called “Violette” for its F77 electric motorcycle, developed with SoundHound AI, according to Autocar India. The company said the system is still under development. 3
An Economic Times report, citing an Ultraviolette press release, said riders can use the wake phrase “Violette” — the words that activate the assistant — to trigger functions such as ride modes and navigation and to pull up real-time vehicle information. The interface runs through a helmet with integrated audio, the report added. 4
Ultraviolette CEO and co-founder Narayan Subramaniam framed it as a safety play. “AI is pivotal in enhancing rider safety,” he said, adding that integrating Violette with SoundHound AI aims to keep riders focused on the road. 5
SoundHound itself has been leaning into the same pitch at CES: push voice beyond commands into transactions and task completion. In a Jan. 5 CES release, CEO Keyvan Mohajer said the company was showing “an ecosystem of AI agents” that can carry out tasks “using the human voice as its main interface.” (“Agentic AI” is the industry’s term for software agents that can take actions on a user’s behalf, not just answer questions.) 6
On the Street, H.C. Wainwright analyst Scott Buck reiterated a Buy rating and a $26 price target after meetings with SoundHound management at CES, TipRanks reported. Buck wrote that the company “may sacrifice adj. EBITDA margin near term” if revenue opportunities show up; adjusted EBITDA is a profit measure that strips out interest, taxes and some non-cash or one-off items. 7
Trading interest showed up early. Nasdaq’s premarket “most active” list included SoundHound AI on Monday, an early sign the stock was drawing fast money again. 8
But the risk case is sitting right there. SoundHound remains unprofitable, and automotive programs can take long sales cycles before they turn into meaningful recurring revenue; delays or a softer pipeline would undercut the bullish “CES traction” read. Bigger tech platforms and in-house voice stacks are also always lurking as competitors, even when the headline is a new partner demo.
The next hard catalyst is earnings. The company has not confirmed a date, but MarketBeat’s calendar estimates SoundHound AI’s next report around Feb. 26, 2026 — a moment investors will use to check revenue pace, cash burn and any update on the path to profitability that analysts keep pointing to. 9
