Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Google DeepMind Licenses Hume AI Tech and Hires CEO to Supercharge Gemini’s Voice

The non‑exclusive pact channels Hume’s emotion‑aware voice tech into Gemini, with Hume remaining independent.

Overview

  • CEO Alan Cowen and roughly seven Hume AI engineers are joining Google DeepMind to work on Gemini’s voice and emotional‑intelligence features.
  • Google has licensed Hume AI’s technology on a non‑exclusive basis, and Hume will continue supplying its tools to other AI labs.
  • Financial terms were not disclosed, and both companies declined to share additional details beyond the licensing and team moves reported.
  • Hume AI named Appen veteran Andrew Ettinger as its new CEO and says it plans further model releases as it doubles down on its voice data, annotation, and RLHE infrastructure.
  • Hume AI projects about $100 million in 2026 revenue after raising roughly $74–80 million to date, as regulators signal closer scrutiny of aqui‑hire‑style deals across the AI sector.