Meta Platforms has acquired WaveForms AI, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to understand and replicate emotion in audio, The Information reported.
WaveForms AI was founded by Alexis Conneau, a former audio researcher at Meta and OpenAI, and Coralie Lemaitre, a former ad strategist at Google. The startup launched in December 2024 and had secured $40 million in funding from a round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Following the acquisition, Conneau and Lemaitre will join Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, its newly formed AI division. This move aligns with Meta’s goal to boost its AI-powered audio technology.
Recently, Meta hired Johan Schalkwyk, a former Google Fellow known for his work in speech AI, as Voice Lead at Superintelligence Labs. The company also acquired Play AI last month, a startup specialising in human-like voices.
Moreover, Meta has been aggressively recruiting AI talent from leading firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. High-profile recruits include Daniel Gross, founder of Safe Superintelligence; Ruoming Pang, former head of Apple’s Foundation Models team; and Nat Friedman, ex-CEO of GitHub.
