Meta Acquires WaveForms to Boost AI Audio Capabilities in Superintelligence Labs

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Meta Platforms has acquired artificial intelligence audio startup WaveForms for an undisclosed amount. The purchase is part of Meta’s expanding push into advanced voice and audio technologies through its research division, Superintelligence Labs.

WaveForms was founded just eight months ago by Alexis Conneau, a former researcher at Meta and OpenAI, and Coralie Lemaitre, a former strategist at Google’s advertising unit. Earlier this year, WaveForms secured $40 million in funding from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz at a pre-money valuation of $200 million.

WaveForms’ main focus is the ‘Speech Turing Test,’ a challenge to create AI-generated speech that is indistinguishable from human voices. The platform incorporates what it calls ‘emotional general intelligence’—software designed to replicate the emotional nuance of human speech within generated speech.

Meta plans to integrate WaveForms technology into its suite of social applications, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. For the music industry, this acquisition could lead to a new tools for voice synthesis, interactive fan engagement, and music production.

Following the deal, Conneau and Lemaitre will join the Meta team to continue development work. This is Meta’s second AI audio acquisition in recent months, following the acquisition of startup PlayAI. Meta has significantly increased investment in generative AI tech in 2025. The company projects capital expenditures between $66 billion and $72 billion, with a considerable portion of that devoted to AI research, infrastructure, and talent recruitment.

In a separate but closely related move, Meta has also recruited Johan Schalkwyk, a veteran of voice and AI research, as Voice Lead for Superintelligence Labs. Schalkwyk, formerly a Google researcher and leading figure behind products like Google Voice Search, was most recently at Sesame AI. His appointment is seen as a significant step in Meta’s push to expand its capabilities in natural and emotionally aware voice interactions.

On joining Meta, Schalkwyk stated: “I have joined Meta’s Superintelligence Lab to lead the Voice efforts, with a strong focus on bringing natural conversational interfaces to billions of users worldwide.”

Link to the source article – https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2025/08/11/meta-acquires-waveforms/