Latest news with #speechRecognition
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Genius AI Stock That Could Be a Great Buy for July
SoundHound AI has been growing at an incredible pace. The stock isn't cheap on a price-to-sales basis, but it's also not expensive considering its growth rate. Management is forecasting sustainable long-term growth. 10 stocks we like better than SoundHound AI › A wide range of artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are available for you to choose from, ranging from the over-hyped to the undervalued: The task for investors is to uncover the best investments that can be bought at solid prices. One that I think could be a genius buy in July is Soundhound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN). SoundHound AI is a pure-play AI stock that is focused on integrating speech recognition with AI models -- an important field. The company is growing rapidly and its share price has soared in the three years since it joined the public market, but its stock is not as expensive as you might think, considering its expected growth rate. It has immense upside if it can continue growing at its current pace. Speech recognition AI models aren't a new idea. Popular versions such as Alexa and Siri have been in wide use for years. However, those models can be quite frustrating when they misunderstand what you're saying. SoundHound AI's model is far more accurate. In fact, it has been found to outperform human counterparts in many situations. The goal of SoundHound AI is to bring human-like interactions to all digital encounters. Companies can save money on personnel by deploying SoundHound's agents to handle an array of customer interactions. The company is still in a relatively early stage of pursuing its market, and so far, most of the software's deployments have involved restaurant drive-thrus and digital assistants in vehicles. However, SoundHound's software is experiencing rapid adoption by companies in other industries, such as healthcare and finance. SoundHound AI's growth rate was a jaw-dropping 151% year over year in Q1. For the full year, management is guiding for 97% growth. If SoundHound AI can hit that level and keep it up, it could be one of the top AI stocks to own over the next few years. However, investors must keep in mind the risks. SoundHound is deeply unprofitable, which should come as no surprise given that it's focused more on capturing market share in its emerging field right now. So if you're looking for profits, you'll have to be patient. SoundHound AI is years away from delivering any positive cash flows. Still, I think it can be a great buy now for one simple reason. SoundHound AI stock trades at a premium valuation, but it's not as high as you might expect for a company that's projected to nearly double its revenue in 2025. At 40 times sales, SoundHound AI's stock is far from cheap, but if it can maintain its growth rate, this valuation will be slashed in half within a short time frame, leaving a stock that could be primed for massive upside. Essentially, there is only a bit over a year's worth of growth baked into the stock price, as most software companies trade between 10 and 20 times sales. For SoundHound AI to return to the high end of that range, it needs to double its sales from this level. Considering the massive growth projected for 2025 and the company's substantial revenue backlog -- $1.2 billion at the end of 2024, compared to just $85 million in total 2024 revenue -- there are still several years of incredibly strong growth ahead for SoundHound AI's top line. If it can't deliver that growth, the stock would face serious downside risk -- but I think the odds of that happening are fairly slim. Because of that, I view SoundHound AI as an excellent stock to add to your portfolio in July. Before you buy stock in SoundHound AI, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and SoundHound AI wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $695,481!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $969,935!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,053% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 179% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 7, 2025 Keithen Drury has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Genius AI Stock That Could Be a Great Buy for July was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should You Forget SoundHound AI and Buy 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Right Now?
SoundHound AI is still growing, but it's still unprofitable and richly valued. Arista's sales are surging as its data center customers upgrade their AI infrastructure. Micron's sales of SSDs and HBMs will rise as the AI market expands. 10 stocks we like better than SoundHound AI › SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN), a developer of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered speech and audio recognition tools, has been a polarizing investment ever since its public debut three years ago. The bulls were initially impressed by its rapid growth, expanding customer base, and the disruptive potential of its tools, which could be customized for restaurants, vehicles, consumer electronics, and other markets. Nvidia's minor investment in the company raised even more green flags. However, a lot of SoundHound's growth was driven by its acquisitions rather than its organic improvements -- and it remained deeply unprofitable. It also faces stiff competition from similar voice recognition platforms, and many investors fled after Nvidia sold its entire stake earlier this year. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect SoundHound's revenue to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48%. They also expect its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to turn positive by the final year. That's a promising growth trajectory, but it's still richly valued at 20 times this year's sales, so any bad news could easily sink its stock. Instead of investing in SoundHound AI, it might be smarter to invest in two other AI-oriented stocks that are on firmer ground: Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) and Micron (NASDAQ: MU). Arista Networks is a top networking hardware and software company. But unlike its larger competitor, Cisco, which locks in its customers with proprietary hardware and software, Arista uses off-the-shelf chips and open-source software that are compatible with a broad range of hardware. It also sells low-latency switches, optimized for hyperscale data center and cloud networks, and its CloudVision platform enables those clients to easily monitor their own cloud deployments. Arista's flexible, modular, and scalable strategy made it a top choice for cloud giants like Meta Platforms and Microsoft. So, while Cisco might be a better one-stop shop for enterprise and campus customers, Arista is a more focused play on the booming cloud and AI infrastructure markets. From 2019 to 2024, Arista's revenue rose at a CAGR of 24%, while its adjusted net income increased at a CAGR of 30%. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect its revenue and earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a CAGR of 19% and 15%, respectively. That growth should be driven by the soaring need for cloud and AI infrastructure upgrades, its gradual expansion into the enterprise and campus markets to challenge Cisco, and the rising adoption of its integrated security services. Arista's stock isn't cheap at 39 times this year's earnings, but it could still have plenty of room to grow. Micron is one of the world's largest producers of DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) and NAND memory chips. It controls smaller slices of both markets than South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix, but Micron manufactures slightly denser DRAM chips with its 1-beta process. That technological edge makes it a top choice for performance-oriented cloud and AI companies. Micron is a cyclical company that follows the memory market's boom and bust cycles. Its last bust occurred in 2023, when the PC market lapped its pandemic-driven acceleration, the 5G smartphone upgrade cycle cooled, and more data centers prioritized their purchases of Nvidia's AI-oriented graphics processing units (GPUs) over new memory chips. But from fiscal 2024 (which ended last August) to fiscal 2027, analysts expect Micron's revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 23% and 148%, respectively. The company's growth is accelerating again as the PC and smartphone markets stabilize and more data center customers install solid-state drives (SSDs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to support the latest cloud and AI applications. That's an impressive growth trajectory for a stock that trades at just 13 times next year's earnings. Micron is likely trading at that lower valuation because it's a cyclical stock. However, it still has plenty of upside potential in this boom cycle as the cloud and AI markets generate fresh tailwinds for its business. Before you buy stock in SoundHound AI, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and SoundHound AI wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $704,676!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $950,198!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Leo Sun has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Arista Networks, Cisco Systems, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Forget SoundHound AI and Buy 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Right Now? was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
South China Morning Post
28-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
From Cambridge to Suzhou: a Chinese AI start-up's journey to unicorn status
In 2007, a Chinese PhD student at the University of Cambridge launched a start-up with a former classmate focused on using speech recognition technology to help foreigners learn Chinese. A year later, Yu Kai and his team returned to China, aiming to draw on the country's vast market and deep talent pool to propel their nascent company's development. Swapping Cambridge for Suzhou – a city in eastern China then more famous for its picturesque gardens and canals than its tech sector – may have seemed like an unconventional choice at the time, but it proved to be an inspired move. Yu's company, AI Speech, is now riding China's artificial intelligence boom as a leader in conversational AI. It has raised hundreds of millions of dollars over several funding rounds, with the Hurun Research Institute recognising the firm as an AI unicorn. Its technology powers voice activation software used by carmakers Mercedes-Benz and BYD, as well as smart home brands Midea and Haier. It also develops AI chips and smart office devices like microphones and speakers. Though the company's funding mostly comes from private investors and its own revenue, China's industrial policies have also played an important role in supporting AI Speech, according to Yu.
Globe and Mail
28-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Should You Forget SoundHound AI and Buy 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Right Now?
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN), a developer of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered speech and audio recognition tools, has been a polarizing investment ever since its public debut three years ago. The bulls were initially impressed by its rapid growth, expanding customer base, and the disruptive potential of its tools, which could be customized for restaurants, vehicles, consumer electronics, and other markets. Nvidia 's minor investment in the company raised even more green flags. However, a lot of SoundHound's growth was driven by its acquisitions rather than its organic improvements -- and it remained deeply unprofitable. It also faces stiff competition from similar voice recognition platforms, and many investors fled after Nvidia sold its entire stake earlier this year. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect SoundHound's revenue to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48%. They also expect its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to turn positive by the final year. That's a promising growth trajectory, but it's still richly valued at 20 times this year's sales, so any bad news could easily sink its stock. Instead of investing in SoundHound AI, it might be smarter to invest in two other AI-oriented stocks that are on firmer ground: Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) and Micron (NASDAQ: MU). 1. Arista Networks Arista Networks is a top networking hardware and software company. But unlike its larger competitor, Cisco, which locks in its customers with proprietary hardware and software, Arista uses off-the-shelf chips and open-source software that are compatible with a broad range of hardware. It also sells low-latency switches, optimized for hyperscale data center and cloud networks, and its CloudVision platform enables those clients to easily monitor their own cloud deployments. Arista's flexible, modular, and scalable strategy made it a top choice for cloud giants like Meta Platforms and Microsoft. So, while Cisco might be a better one-stop shop for enterprise and campus customers, Arista is a more focused play on the booming cloud and AI infrastructure markets. From 2019 to 2024, Arista's revenue rose at a CAGR of 24%, while its adjusted net income increased at a CAGR of 30%. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect its revenue and earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a CAGR of 19% and 15%, respectively. That growth should be driven by the soaring need for cloud and AI infrastructure upgrades, its gradual expansion into the enterprise and campus markets to challenge Cisco, and the rising adoption of its integrated security services. Arista's stock isn't cheap at 39 times this year's earnings, but it could still have plenty of room to grow. 2. Micron Micron is one of the world's largest producers of DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) and NAND memory chips. It controls smaller slices of both markets than South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix, but Micron manufactures slightly denser DRAM chips with its 1-beta process. That technological edge makes it a top choice for performance-oriented cloud and AI companies. Micron is a cyclical company that follows the memory market's boom and bust cycles. Its last bust occurred in 2023, when the PC market lapped its pandemic-driven acceleration, the 5G smartphone upgrade cycle cooled, and more data centers prioritized their purchases of Nvidia's AI-oriented graphics processing units (GPUs) over new memory chips. But from fiscal 2024 (which ended last August) to fiscal 2027, analysts expect Micron's revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 23% and 148%, respectively. The company's growth is accelerating again as the PC and smartphone markets stabilize and more data center customers install solid-state drives (SSDs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to support the latest cloud and AI applications. That's an impressive growth trajectory for a stock that trades at just 13 times next year's earnings. Micron is likely trading at that lower valuation because it's a cyclical stock. However, it still has plenty of upside potential in this boom cycle as the cloud and AI markets generate fresh tailwinds for its business. Should you invest $1,000 in SoundHound AI right now? Before you buy stock in SoundHound AI, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SoundHound AI wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $704,676!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $950,198!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to175%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025
South China Morning Post
18-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Alibaba recruits top Chinese AI scientist Li Xiangang to lead speech-recognition push
Li Xiangang, a leading Chinese scientist in speech recognition, has joined Alibaba Group Holding to spearhead its artificial intelligence (AI) voice team, boosting the tech giant's capabilities in the burgeoning field. Sources familiar with the matter said Li, who holds a PhD in Computer and Information Sciences from Peking University, had taken on a role leading speech AI research at the Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant. He fills a position previously held by Yan Zhijie, who left the company. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. The speech team, part of Alibaba's Tongyi Lab, focuses on multimodal speech and language models. In July 2024, the lab open-sourced two foundational speech models, SenseVoice and CosyVoice. SenseVoice's multilingual speech recognition notably outperformed OpenAI's Whisper by 50 per cent in Chinese and Cantonese, according to Alibaba. Li's move was first reported by Chinese media outlets. Machine-learning models for speech and recognition have broad AI applications, including in chatbots and digital avatars. Photo: Shutterstock Images Machine-learning models for speech and recognition have broad AI applications, including in chatbots and digital avatars. This has led to intense competition among China's Big Tech firms wanting to stake out their positions in the sector. Chinese search giant Baidu, for example, showcased a digital avatar of Luo Yonghao, a prominent Chinese public speaker and entrepreneur, during its AI Day on Tuesday.
