Voice AI platform SoundHound lays off 10% of its workforce

SAN FRANCISCO: SoundHound, a US-based maker of voice AI technology used by Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Telekom, Snap, MasterCard and others, has laid off about 10 per cent of its workforce amid ongoing economic turmoil in global markets.

According to TechCrunch, the company announced the decision to its employees last week.

In addition, it imposed salary cuts on some of those who were not laid off. The company did not specify the details of the salary cuts or how many people were affected.

"We announced to our SoundHounders that we are taking actions to streamline our company, including an approximate 10 per cent reduction in workforce. We don't take this lightly, but in the face of challenging market conditions, we must channel our investments into the areas that continue to drive growth and allow us to best serve our customers," a SoundHound spokesperson was quoted as saying.

SoundHound was founded in 2005, offering its voice AI platform in 25 languages, also it powers voice-enabled experiences in a number of the cars provided by Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Honda.

Earlier this month, the company partnered with Samsung's Harman International to offer fully OEM-owned, branded in-vehicle voice experiences, according to the report.

The company also offers two mobile apps, SoundHound Music, which works similarly to Apple's Shazam and lets users discover music nearby, and Hound, which uses voice commands to help users find and retrieve information.

SoundHound is the latest tech company to lay off employees during the current economic downturn.

In addition to the recent layoffs announced by Facebook owner Meta and Twitter, other companies such as Netflix, Salesforce, Spotify, Tencent, and others have cut tens of thousands of jobs in recent months, said the report.

Many Indian startups have laid off hundreds of employees in the wake of a decline in funding and investment, including Byju's, Ola and Unacademy.