SoundHound AI SOUN is widening the reach of its agentic AI beyond traditional voice applications as it pushes deeper into connected devices, automotive systems and Voice Commerce. The strategy centers on OASYS, its self-learning agentic platform, which allows AI agents to operate independently of a specific channel and extend across physical and digital touchpoints. Management says OASYS agents can support vehicle assistants, retail transactions and other complex workflows across multiple verticals.
IoT Deals Broaden OASYS Reach
Momentum is becoming visible in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. During the second quarter, SoundHound secured an IoT deal with an automotive maintenance and diagnostic company that plans to use AI agents to improve on-site productivity. The customer will integrate with OASYS, enabling purpose-built agents to work across multiple channels.
SoundHound is also moving into consumer electronics. A multinational electronics manufacturer agreed to deploy its technology for agentic transactions directly through TVs, while the company signed another automotive brand for in-car Voice Commerce. These initiatives could turn connected devices into transaction points, expanding monetization opportunities beyond licensing and voice assistance.
Growth Opportunity Comes With Execution Risk
The broader business provides encouraging momentum. Second-quarter revenues increased 45% year over year to $61.9 million, while SoundHound raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $230-$260 million. However, the company remained loss-making and used nearly $60 million of operating cash during the first half.
The completed LivePerson acquisition further expands SoundHound across voice, web, mobile, SMS and social channels. If OASYS can successfully connect these digital channels with cars, TVs and other devices, SoundHound could materially broaden its agentic AI addressable market.
SoundHound Faces Competition From Cerence and Alphabet
Cerence CRNC remains a key competitor as SoundHound expands agentic AI across connected vehicles and IoT environments. Cerence offers generative AI-powered in-car assistants that can be embedded or cloud-connected, giving automakers control over branded, context-aware voice experiences. Cerence’s deep automotive specialization and established OEM relationships could make it harder for SoundHound to expand in vehicle-based commerce and connected-device applications.
Alphabet GOOGL represents another major competitive threat as Google broadens the reach of Gemini across its device and automotive ecosystem. Gemini is being integrated into Android, Android Auto and vehicles equipped with Google built-in, allowing users to complete increasingly complex tasks through AI-driven interactions.
Alphabet’s extensive Android footprint gives it a significant distribution advantage as agentic AI expands across smartphones, vehicles and connected devices. Its automotive ambitions are also deepening through partnerships such as Mahindra, where Gemini-powered capabilities are being incorporated into in-vehicle experiences.
Still, SoundHound’s channel-independent OASYS platform and focus on OEM-controlled deployments could help it differentiate against both Cerence and Alphabet.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
SoundHound’s shares have lost 40.9% year to date (YTD), underperforming the industry, as shown below.
SOUN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SOUN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 9.29, slightly lower than the industry’s average.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoundHound’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share has narrowed to 19 cents and 14 cents, respectively, as shown below. The expected loss for 2026 remains wider than the previous year’s loss of 13 cents per share.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SOUN currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).