WaveForms aims to disrupt AI voice interactions with emotional intelligence

The news: WaveForms AI, a San Francisco-based startup founded by ex-OpenAI researcher Alexis Conneau, is hoping to revolutionize voice interactions by imbuing generative AI (genAI) chatbots with the ability to interpret emotional cues and respond in a more human-like way.

WaveForms is the latest startup stemming from OpenAI, part of an ongoing trend where 79 OpenAI alumni have founded at least 28 organizations, per Crunchbase.

Entering a challenging space: The cachet of having been part of the biggest genAI player could help WaveForms get off the ground. However, the company currently only has five employees and no product to demonstrate.

Conneau, who helped develop the advanced voice mode that powered OpenAI’s voice assistant, is seeking to build the next generation of AI voice assistants.

• His team is looking to create conversational AI for immersive voice interactions that can interpret both speech and tone.
• The voice AI’s key feature would be its ability to “interpret not just the words people use but also how they speak, without being specifically trained in advance on all the nuances of how they interact,” he added.

Potential applications: More perceptive AI voice solutions could be transformative to businesses relying on customer-facing voice automation, particularly financial services, healthcare, and almost any customer support application. 

• 42% of customer experience leaders expect voice-based interactions to be heavily influenced by genAI, per Zendesk.
• The big hurdle will be overcoming customers’ dislike for non-human interactions. For customer service specifically, nearly two-thirds, or 64%, of consumers would prefer that companies not use AI for customer service, per a Gartner survey. 
• Notably, 53% would consider switching to a competitor if a business adopted AI for customer service.

Zendesk, which is well into its AI expansion, says its voice agents are able to resolve up to 50% of customer calls. For many companies adopting voice AI, Zendesk’s success rate may be just good enough to negate additional expense for more nuanced and thoughtful client interactions. 

The challenge: WaveForms AI is entering a crowded market with Big Tech companies fielding multimodal AI agents that can manage voice interactions. Partnerships and product licensing could be the best approach for WaveForms or similar startups entering a field dominated by larger-scale companies.

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