Meta acquires AI audio startup WaveForms
Meta has added WaveForms AI to its technology portfolio, securing a startup that aims to capture emotional nuance in speech by analyzing and recreating human emotion in audio. That information comes from a report in The Economic Times, which highlights the company’s drive to inject audio intelligence throughout its metaverse and communications platforms.
This deal follows Meta’s recent purchase of PlayAI and appears aligned with broader restructuring efforts, including new leadership under Superintelligence Labs and the planned development of Llama 4.5. Meta has indicated that Alexis Conneau, one of WaveForms’ co-founders and an audio AI researcher for both Meta and OpenAI, will now join the company’s AI division alongside fellow co-founder Coralie Lemaitre, who previously held a strategy role at Google.
WaveForms was founded just eight months ago and raised roughly $40 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz, which valued the company at around $160 million before the acquisition. The company had been self-described as working toward passing a “Speech Turing Test” meaning its AI voices aim to be indistinguishable from human speech, and developing what it called “Emotional General Intelligence,” a capability beyond tone into self-awareness and context in audio responses.
Meta has folded this acquisition into the Superintelligence Labs unit. Internal organization includes a newly created “TBD Lab,” under Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, which is reportedly advancing reasoning, agent design, and the next Llama model iteration. That structure suggests Meta is seeking to unify various research strands (audio, reasoning, agents) under one umbrella.
The move brings a set of implications. Realistic speech that can mirror emotion may prove important for interacting in virtual environments or moderating feedback from digital assistants. The capture of such nuance could enhance fidelity in voice-based interfaces and perhaps support accessibility tools. The guiding research at Superintelligence Labs may find ample use within Meta’s VR, AR, and chat experiences.
Meta’s acquisition highlights the company’s active strategy to strengthen AI capabilities in areas where voice remains relatively underdeveloped. The integration of WaveForms will expand Meta’s ability to build realistic, emotionally responsive vocal interfaces in the spaces where more companies are competing for presence.
