WINNIPEG, Manitoba--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IntouchCX, a global leader in customer experience management and automation, announced that IntouchAI, and its solution suite, has been named a Major Contender in the Everest Group Conversational AI and AI Agents in CXM Products PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2025. This distinction highlights IntouchAI's technology maturity, architectural depth, and ability to operationalize Conversational AI and AI Agents at enterprise scale across the customer and agent lifecycle. ...

SUMMARY AND KEY POINTS: Cerence AI will unveil the latest updates to its Cerence xUI™ platform at CES 2026.The company will highlight CaLLM™ Edge running on several different chipsets, delivering faster performance, lower latency, and reliable in-car interaction even without connectivity.Cerence will introduce new AI agents for vehicle owners and dealerships, expanding its presence in the extended automotive ecosystem and beyond. LAS VEGAS and BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CES 2026 -- ...

Core Insights - Cerence Inc. has introduced two new AI agents aimed at enhancing customer engagement in the automotive sector: the dealer assist agent and the ownership companion agent, which will be showcased at CES 2026 [2][3][9] Group 1: Dealer Assist Agent - The dealer assist agent is designed to address the disconnect between customer expectations and dealership operations, automating lead capture, test drive booking, and service scheduling [4][6] - Dealerships currently lose 15-20% of potential monthly sales due to inadequate response to leads, highlighting the need for AI tools to improve follow-up efficiency [5][6] - This agent integrates with CRM and DMS platforms to ensure seamless customer interactions, reducing response times and enhancing customer satisfaction [6][12] Group 2: Ownership Companion Agent - The ownership companion agent assists drivers with diagnostics, service scheduling, and helps them utilize advanced vehicle features, addressing the fact that over 60% of car owners do not use these features [8][9] - It provides a consistent, intelligent support experience for drivers, recognizing individual drivers and their service history to offer tailored recommendations [10][11] - The agent facilitates real-time communication between the vehicle and dealership, creating a service loop that enhances customer engagement [12] Group 3: Strategic Expansion - Cerence aims to extend its AI capabilities beyond the automotive sector, indicating potential applications in other industries that require high-volume customer engagement [7][8] - The introduction of these agents represents a strategic evolution for Cerence, enhancing its position as a leader in conversational AI and intelligent user experiences [3][9]

Group 1 - Cerence Inc. (CRNC) specializes in conversational AI for the automotive industry and is competing against larger technology companies while still growing its backlog, which indicates revenue potential [1] - The company is focused on expanding its market presence despite the competitive landscape [1] Group 2 - No financial disclosures or investment recommendations are provided in the article [2] - The article reflects the author's opinions and does not represent the views of Seeking Alpha as a whole [2]

Core Insights - Cerence Inc. (CRNC) specializes in conversational AI for the automotive industry and is competing against larger technology companies while still managing to grow its backlog, which indicates revenue potential [1] Company Overview - Cerence Inc. focuses on conversational AI solutions specifically tailored for the automotive sector [1] - The company is facing competition from larger tech firms but continues to expand its backlog, suggesting a positive outlook for future revenue [1]

Core Insights - SoundHound AI (SOUN) is experiencing significant enterprise adoption with its Agentic+ framework, leading to a 68% year-over-year revenue growth to $42 million in Q3 2025 as deployments expand across various sectors [1][11] Group 1: Product and Technology - The growth is driven by SoundHound's Agentic AI architecture, now integrated into the Amelia 7 platform, featuring the Speech-to-Meaning technology for improved latency and natural interactions [2] - The hybrid system combines generative AI, deterministic flows, and multi-agent orchestration, addressing common challenges in AI project deployments [2] - Early users of Agentic AI report up to 10-fold improvements in containment, 25% higher Net Promoter Scores, and 15% higher customer satisfaction, with reduced deployment efforts compared to legacy systems [3] Group 2: Market Position and Strategy - SoundHound is positioning itself as a next-generation customer experience (CX) infrastructure provider, focusing on scalable AI automation and multimodal interfaces [4] - The company aims for breakeven profitability by 2026 while targeting a share of the $140 billion conversational AI market [4] - SoundHound's acquisition of Interactions enhances its workflow automation capabilities and expands its reach into Fortune 100 accounts [3] Group 3: Competitive Landscape - In the enterprise CX market, SoundHound faces competition from Nuance and LivePerson, both of which are pushing for more automated conversational interfaces [6] - Nuance leverages its established presence in healthcare and call centers but relies on legacy architectures, while LivePerson struggles with platform modernization [7][8] - SoundHound's Agentic+ framework and real-time Speech-to-Meaning engine provide a competitive edge, particularly for enterprises seeking effective voice-led automation [8] Group 4: Financial Performance and Valuation - SoundHound's shares have declined by 36.1% year-to-date, underperforming compared to the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry's 13.6% decline [9] - The company is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 23.06, higher than the industry's 17.01 [13] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SOUN's 2025 loss per share remains at 13 cents, indicating improvement from a loss of $1.04 per share a year ago [15]

Core Insights - SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN) has experienced a significant decline in stock price, dropping 22.8% over the past month to approximately $11.78, contrasting with the broader market's gains [1][7] - Despite the stock's downturn, the company reported a remarkable revenue growth of 127% year-to-date, reaching $114 million, and raised its full-year revenue guidance to between $165 million and $180 million [7][9] Financial Performance - SOUN shares are trading significantly below their 52-week high of $24.98 and above their low of $6.52, indicating a bearish technical setup [5] - The company reported a GAAP loss of $109.3 million in Q3, with high cash burn and increasing competition affecting the outlook [7][14] - Operating cash outflow exceeded $76 million in the first nine months of the year, highlighting the need for balanced growth investments [15] Growth Momentum - The company achieved $42 million in revenue for Q3, marking a 68% year-over-year increase, and cumulative revenue for the first three quarters reached a record $114 million [8] - Management's confidence in demand is reflected in the upward revision of revenue expectations, signaling robust deployments and expansions across customer accounts [9] Industry Position and Customer Reach - SoundHound is expanding its customer base across various industries, including automotive, restaurants, healthcare, and financial services, with notable deployments in voice ordering solutions [10][11] - Recent agreements, such as integrating Chat AI into millions of devices for a major Chinese tech company, enhance its presence in the smart-device market [10] Technological Foundation - The company's platform is built on advanced technologies like Speech-to-Meaning and Deep Meaning Understanding, which enhance its capabilities in conversational AI [12] - SoundHound's strong balance sheet, with $269 million in cash and no debt, provides financial flexibility for continued innovation [13] Competitive Landscape - The voice and agentic AI market is becoming increasingly competitive, with major players like Nuance Communications and Cerence posing significant challenges [28] - SoundHound's recent acquisition strategy, while potentially beneficial, introduces risks related to integration and cost management [17] Valuation Concerns - SoundHound's stock trades at approximately 21.5X forward 12-month sales, above the industry average of 16.54X, raising concerns about valuation relative to its loss profile [18] - Analyst estimates indicate a mixed outlook, with revenue projections rising but earnings expectations softening, highlighting the tension between growth and profitability [22]

Summary of Twilio Conference Call Company Overview - **Company**: Twilio - **Industry**: Cloud Communications, specifically focusing on Voice and Video services Key Points and Arguments Voice Product Evolution - Twilio's Voice API was launched approximately 15 years ago, and the company has seen significant growth in this area, particularly due to advancements in AI technologies [9][11][12] - The emergence of AI, including advancements in speech recognition and generative AI, has created new opportunities for Twilio's Voice services [11][12] - Twilio's Programmable Voice product is designed to interface seamlessly with AI, allowing businesses to automate customer interactions effectively [12][14] Market Demand and Use Cases - There is a growing demand for Voice AI solutions, particularly in sectors like healthcare, retail, and financial services, where voice communication remains essential [30][31] - Common use cases include automating routine inquiries such as appointment scheduling and package status updates, which are traditionally handled by human agents [19][20][21] - Twilio is seeing a shift in operational expenditures (OPEX) as businesses look to reduce costs associated with traditional contact centers [19] Competitive Landscape - Twilio competes with traditional contact center players, other CPaaS providers, and emerging AI startups [22][23] - The company differentiates itself through its robust API offerings, global connectivity, and the ability to integrate various communication channels [24][27][28] - Twilio's modular approach allows customers to select the best solutions for their needs without being locked into a single provider [51][52] Financial Performance - Voice currently contributes approximately 12% of Twilio's revenue, with expectations for growth driven by AI integration [42][39] - The company has seen a reacceleration in Voice revenue growth, attributed to both traditional customers and new AI-driven use cases [43][44] - Voice AI is expected to become a more significant contributor to revenue as enterprises begin to adopt these technologies more widely [45][46] Components of Voice AI Deals - Key components of a Voice AI deal include Voice APIs, Conversation Relay, and Conversational Intelligence, which enhance the functionality and effectiveness of voice interactions [46][47][48] - These components allow for features such as call recording, transcription, and sentiment analysis, which can improve customer interactions and operational efficiency [50][61] Gross Margin and Upsell Opportunities - Voice AI deals typically have higher average deal sizes compared to traditional SMS deals due to the added software components [59][62] - The integration of software products like Conversation Relay and Conversational Intelligence contributes to higher gross margins for Twilio [62] Additional Insights - Twilio is focused on enabling enterprises to adopt Voice AI in a phased manner, allowing for testing and gradual scaling of AI solutions [35][36] - The company emphasizes the importance of providing a seamless customer experience across multiple communication channels, including voice, SMS, and email [27][28][58] This summary captures the essential insights from the Twilio conference call, highlighting the company's strategic focus on Voice AI, market opportunities, competitive advantages, and financial performance.

Core Points - Brand Engagement Network Inc. (BEN) will implement a 1-for-10 reverse stock split effective December 12, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time [1] - The reverse stock split will not affect the number of authorized shares or the par value of the common stock [1] - Post-split, the common stock will continue trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol "BNAI" [2] - No fractional shares will be issued; stockholders entitled to fractional shares will receive cash payments based on the closing price prior to the effective time [3] - Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company will act as the exchange agent for the reverse stock split, with automatic adjustments for stockholders holding shares in book-entry or through a broker [4] Company Overview - Brand Engagement Network, Inc. (BEN) specializes in developing conversational AI agents for regulated and customer-centric industries [5] - The company utilizes its proprietary Engagement Language Model (ELM™) to enable enterprises to deploy multimodal, compliance-first AI across various channels [5] - BEN holds 21 issued patents and has a growing intellectual property portfolio, with early adoption in sectors such as life sciences, healthcare, insurance, financial services, hospitality, retail, and automotive [5]

Core Insights - Agora, Inc. has announced a partnership with Agnes AI to enhance its AI Group Chat and multi-agent collaboration system using Agora Chat [1] Company Summary - Agora, Inc. is recognized as a leading platform for real-time engagement and conversational AI [1] - Agnes AI is identified as one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing AI-native work platforms [1]