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How Strong Is SOUN's Automotive Voice AI Pipeline Going Into 2025?

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Key Takeaways

  • SOUN is expanding its automotive pipeline amid rising OEM demand for custom voice AI over big tech options.
  • Automakers are piloting SOUN's voice commerce tech, with 15 major restaurant brands already integrated.
  • Despite soft auto volumes, SOUN sees strategic growth as OEMs accelerate adoption of its voice AI platform.

SoundHound AI (SOUN - Free Report) enters the second half of 2025 with a robust and expanding automotive pipeline, driven by shifting OEM preferences and its differentiated voice AI capabilities. 

During its first-quarter 2025 earnings call, management emphasized a notable industry trend —  automakers are moving away from big tech-voice platforms and seeking more customized, white-labeled solutions. This shift plays directly into SoundHound’s strengths, especially its Polaris model, which offers faster response times and better accuracy in noisy environments.

Importantly, SoundHound is seeing renewed interest from both EV and internal combustion engine OEMs, including global brands pursuing pilots and proofs of concept for its voice commerce solution. The company is no longer viewed as a back-end feature on the bill of materials, it is increasingly seen as a revenue enabler, thanks to transactional-voice capabilities such as in-car food ordering and parking reservations.

Despite some softness in auto unit volumes during first-quarter 2025 due to macro uncertainty, management’s sentiment remains bullish. SoundHound’s voice commerce platform has gained traction quickly, with more than 15 major restaurant brands integrated and multiple OEMs accelerating adoption timelines. This indicates meaningful potential for royalty and subscription revenue uplift in the coming quarters.

While auto unit now represents a smaller portion of the company’s diversified revenue base, the strategic significance of the segment is growing. With a strong pipeline, expanding product offerings and increasing OEM engagement, SoundHound appears well-positioned to capitalize on a generational shift in the adoption of in-vehicle voice technology during the second half of 2025 and beyond.

How Does SOUN Stack Up Against Voice AI Rivals in Automotive?

In the competitive landscape of automotive voice AI, Cerence Inc. (CRNC - Free Report) and Amazon.com, Inc.’s (AMZN - Free Report) Alexa Auto emerge as key challengers to SoundHound. Cerence has long been embedded in the automotive space, powering voice assistants for legacy OEMs with deep integration into infotainment and vehicle systems. However, CRNC has faced headwinds in transitioning to cloud-based and transactional voice services, where SoundHound’s hybrid-cloud and voice-commerce capabilities are gaining ground.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s Alexa Auto leverages its consumer ecosystem to deliver in-car voice functionality. Its strength lies in smart home integration and brand familiarity, but OEMs increasingly seek white-labeled, customizable alternatives, an area where SoundHound differentiates.

With automakers showing a preference for flexible, branded solutions over platform lock-in, SoundHound’s edge lies in its proprietary voice stack, multilingual support and real-time transactional capabilities. As OEMs pivot from big tech to specialized providers, SoundHound is narrowing the gap and potentially reshaping the competitive dynamic.

SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

SoundHound’s shares have gained 16.7% in the past three months, outperforming the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry’s 7.4% growth.

Price Performance

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In terms of its forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio, SOUN is trading at 21.41, up from the industry’s 19.08.

P/S (F12M)

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Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SOUN’s 2025 loss per share has remained unchanged at 16 cents. Nonetheless, the estimated figure indicates an improvement from the year-ago loss of $1.04 per share.
 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

SOUN currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.


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