WaveForms AI
Emotional voice audio AI startup absorbed into Meta before it ever shipped a public product.
Acquired WaveForms AI
Acquired · August 2025
WaveForms AI was a voice-audio startup focused on detecting and generating emotion in speech, founded in late 2024 by ex-OpenAI researcher Alexis Conneau and backed by Andreessen Horowitz with about $40M. Meta acquired it on August 8, 2025 and absorbed the team into Meta Superintelligence Labs. The company never shipped a public consumer product and its website was taken down.
Acquired by Meta.
Last known pricing: Never publicly launched
What to use instead
Flipner AI
Flipner AI is an AI writing tool that converts voice input into written articles.
Freemium
4.61
139
WhisperTranscribe
WhisperTranscribe is an audio transcription tool that converts speech to text using Whisper AI models.
Freemium
4.6
169
7ART
7ART is an AI character platform that generates music, video, images, and voice from one consistent character.
Freemium
4.87
240
Overview
What happened to WaveForms AI
WaveForms AI was a research-stage startup working on audio AI that could detect and reproduce emotion in speech, an idea it framed as solving a 'Speech Turing Test.' It was founded in late 2024 by Alexis Conneau, a former OpenAI researcher who had worked on GPT-4o's Advanced Voice Mode, alongside co-founder Coralie Lemaitre.
The company raised roughly $40 million from Andreessen Horowitz. It remained at the research stage and did not release a public consumer product.
Key Features
- Research on emotional, expressive speech generation
- Stated goal of passing a 'Speech Turing Test'
- Founded by an ex-OpenAI voice researcher
- Around $40M in a16z backing
- Never shipped a public product
What happened to WaveForms AI
Meta acquired WaveForms AI on August 8, 2025 and folded the team into Meta Superintelligence Labs, shortly after acquiring audio startup PlayAI. Because WaveForms was still research-stage, there was no public product to shut down; its website was taken down after the deal.
FAQ
Did WaveForms AI ever release a product? No. WaveForms remained research-stage and never shipped a public consumer product before the Meta acquisition.
Who acquired WaveForms AI? Meta acquired the startup on August 8, 2025 and absorbed the team into Meta Superintelligence Labs.
Who founded WaveForms AI? It was founded in late 2024 by ex-OpenAI researcher Alexis Conneau, with co-founder Coralie Lemaitre.
tl;dr
WaveForms AI, an a16z-backed emotional voice AI startup founded by ex-OpenAI researcher Alexis Conneau, was acquired by Meta on August 8, 2025 and absorbed into Superintelligence Labs without ever shipping a public product.