Google Nabs Top Talent From AI Voice Startup Hume AI

Steven

Google Nabs Top Talent From AI Voice Startup Hume AI

Summary

Google DeepMind has hired Hume AI’s CEO, Alan Cowen, and roughly seven engineers as part of a confidential licensing agreement. Hume AI — a startup that builds emotionally intelligent voice models — will continue to supply its technology to other AI labs while Andrew Ettinger steps in as Hume’s new CEO.

Key Points

  • Alan Cowen (Hume AI CEO) and several top engineers are joining Google DeepMind under a new licensing deal.
  • Financial terms are confidential, but Hume says it will keep licensing its voice-emotion tech to other labs.
  • Hume AI projects around $100m revenue in 2026 and has raised about $74m to date.
  • Hume trains emotion models using expert annotations of real conversations to detect mood and emotional cues in voice.
  • At Google, the team will help integrate voice and emotional intelligence into frontier models (eg. Gemini).
  • Deal strengthens Google’s position against rivals with lifelike voice modes, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
  • The arrangement resembles an ‘aqui-hire’ and comes as regulators (FTC) increase scrutiny of talent acquisitions.
  • Andrew Ettinger will take over as Hume AI CEO; the company plans to release new models soon.

Content Summary

WIRED reports that Google DeepMind has struck a licensing agreement that includes hiring Hume AI’s CEO and several engineers. Hume specialises in voice interfaces that read emotional cues and trains models with annotated real-world conversations. The hires will support Google’s efforts to make voice a primary AI interface that understands and adapts to users’ emotions.

Hume expects significant revenue in 2026 as demand grows for emotionally aware voice assistants in consumer devices and customer support. The deal is part of a broader trend where big tech licences technology or recruits teams from smaller AI startups to accelerate features without full acquisitions.

Context and Relevance

This move highlights two converging trends: voice becoming a dominant AI interface and competition among big labs to add emotional intelligence to models. It also illustrates how licensing-and-hire deals let large firms access talent and IP while sidestepping the oversight that comes with outright acquisitions — a tactic now drawing regulatory attention.

Why should I read this?

Short version: if you care about who wins the race to make AIs sound and feel more human, this matters. Google just boosted its voice-and-emotion playbook by hiring the people who’ve been building the tech. That can change how assistants behave, how customer support systems respond, and who sets the standards for voice interfaces — fast.

Source

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/google-hires-hume-ai-ceo-licensing-deal-gemini/