Hume AI

Hume AI is an AI research company founded in 2021 by Alan Cowen and headquartered in New York, NY. The company focuses on building models that interpret human emotional and expressive behavior from voice, facial expressions, and text, with the stated goal of aligning AI outputs with human well-being.

Hume's primary product is the Empathic Voice Interface (EVI), a conversational AI API that incorporates vocal tone and emotional cues into real-time dialogue. The company also offers an Expression Measurement API that analyzes facial, vocal, and linguistic signals across dozens of emotional dimensions. These tools are used by developers and enterprises building applications in mental health, customer experience, and human-computer interaction.

Hume AI raised a $50 million Series B round in 2024, bringing its total funding to approximately $77 million. Earlier backers include Union Square Ventures, Nat Friedman, and Daniel Gross. The company employs between 51 and 200 people and has published peer-reviewed research on emotional AI, drawing on Cowen's prior academic work at UC Berkeley on the taxonomy of human emotion.