By CMC Markets
Publication Date: 2026-01-21 00:00:00
“Our time is now.”
Nitesh Sharan, the CFO of SoundHound AI (SOUN), said this in an interview with OPTO meetings in July 2025. Sharan described a new departure in voice-activated artificial intelligence (AI).
With the development of large language models and agentic AI, he said, “you’re seeing a massive shift in the way this technology can now deal with the complexities that are part and parcel of human interaction.”
Six months later, does it look like Sharan spoke too soon?
Absolutely not. Everything points to this being a big year for voice AI. Let’s monitor sentiment across the sector and try to figure out what this could mean for investors looking for the next opportunity in AI.
CES revealed
As always, CES 2026, held in Las Vegas in early January, gave tech watchers a good glimpse of what lies ahead.
SoundHound, still a leader in voice and conversational AI, unveiled new developments in its Amelia 7 agent AI.
This includes trading…
