Hume AI

Hume AI is an AI technology research laboratory and startup that specializes in developing conversational AI systems optimized for human well-being and emotional understanding. Hume AI's flagship product is the Empathic Voice Interface (EVI), a conversational AI that can interpret and respond to human emotions. EVI utilizes a proprietary empathic large language model (eLLM) that integrates standard language models with expression measures, allowing it to adjust its language and tone based on the user's emotional expressions. 

In September 2024, the company introduced EVI 2, a new foundational voice-to-voice AI model. It is designed to interpret emotional expressions and generate empathetic responses to conversations by integrating transcription, language modeling, and text-to-speech. EVI 2 can engage in conversations with short response times, understand and generate various tones of voice, and adapt to user preferences. EVI 2 uses a proprietary AI model developed through cross-cultural voice recordings matched with self-reported emotional survey results. Additionally, the technology offers features such as customizable voices and in-conversation prompts, allowing the option to adjust to speaking style. 

As of September 2024, EVI 2 offered over 10 base voices in English, with plans to expand to Spanish, French, and German by the end of the year. EVI is the first model to offer its services through an API, allowing developers and businesses to integrate the technology into their applications or build new ones. Its EVI 1 service is priced at USD 0.102 per minute and EVI 2 service at USD 0.072 per minute, with volume discounts available for enterprise users.