SoundHound AI SOUN is building a stronger foothold in Asia, with its automotive business in the region posting substantial growth for five consecutive quarters. Management said that the company has signed major Asian deals in each of those quarters, with China emerging as an important market. In the second quarter of 2026, SoundHound secured a seven-figure agreement with a major Chinese automotive infotainment software company and added an automotive maintenance and diagnostics customer.
Momentum is also broadening beyond China. SoundHound secured a six-figure unit expansion with Indian electric two-wheeler maker Ultraviolette and reached an agreement with another large OEM to introduce real-time generative AI capabilities in vehicles in India. Management attributes its traction to its flexible proprietary technology, agentic AI capabilities, vertical expertise and growing regional experience. OASYS could strengthen this opportunity further by allowing customers to deploy purpose-built AI agents across multiple channels.
The broader business momentum provides additional support. Second-quarter revenues increased 45% year over year to $61.9 million, while SoundHound raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $230-$260 million. The completed LivePerson acquisition also expands SoundHound’s global enterprise footprint and creates opportunities to integrate digital messaging with its voice and agentic AI platform.
Still, sustaining Asia’s pace will depend on continued OEM wins, successful deployments and expansion of existing contracts in competitive automotive markets. The five-quarter streak suggests SoundHound is gaining meaningful regional traction, but converting that momentum into recurring, scalable revenues will be the key test ahead.
SoundHound Faces Strong Automotive AI Competition in Asia
SoundHound’s expansion in Asia puts it against established automotive AI players, particularly Cerence CRNC and Baidu BIDU.
Cerence is a direct rival in conversational in-car AI, with its xUI agentic platform designed for automakers seeking LLM-powered voice experiences. Cerence has strengthened its Asian exposure through partnerships with Chinese manufacturers, including BYD and Geely, giving it a meaningful presence as SoundHound targets more Chinese OEM wins.
Baidu represents a broader competitive force through its Apollo intelligent-driving ecosystem and DuerOS smart assistant. Baidu combines autonomous-driving technology, AI models and in-vehicle interaction capabilities, while its strong position in China gives it deep local market knowledge and relationships. For SoundHound, continued momentum will depend on converting its technology advantages into additional production programs and wider vehicle deployments. Its flexible proprietary stack and OASYS platform support that effort, but Cerence’s automotive specialization and Baidu’s local AI ecosystem keep competition intense across key Asian markets.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
SoundHound’s shares have lost 40.2% 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 10.4, 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 16 cents and 13 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).