Employers
SoundHound AI Inc., the Santa Clara, Calif.-based voice and conversational AI company, is cutting about 27% of its global workforce, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Nov. 5.
In the Form 8-K, filed under Item 2.05, which covers costs of exit or disposal activities, the company said it implemented a restructuring plan on Wednesday, Nov. 4, “intended to align our teams and resources with our strategic priorities to drive long-term profitability.” The plan includes “a reduction of the Company’s current global workforce by approximately 27%.”
The filing does not say how many employees are affected or where they work. It says decisions about eliminating positions “are subject to local law and consultation requirements in certain countries, as well as the Company’s business needs.”
Costs and timing
SoundHound estimated it will record pre-tax charges of $18 million to $22 million under generally accepted accounting principles, substantially all related to severance payments and post-employment benefits. It expects $16 million to $19 million of that to be paid in cash. Most of the charges will be recognized and paid in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the employee restructuring is expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2026, subject to local law, consultation requirements and business needs.
The company said savings from the plan “will be used to further the Company’s strategic initiatives.” It cautioned that the estimates rest on assumptions, including local legal requirements, and that actual amounts may differ materially.
Why now
The cut follows SoundHound’s acquisition of LivePerson, a customer-engagement software company, which closed Sept. 4. In the earnings release filed with the 8-K, Chief Financial Officer John Collins said that since the deal closed, the company has “moved swiftly and decisively to integrate the businesses and realize substantial cost and revenue synergies,” while also “exiting non-core, dilutive business lines.”
The release says SoundHound has identified $120 million in annualized cost synergies, with more than $80 million in actions scheduled to take effect before Jan. 1, 2027, and the full run rate expected in 2027. It does not say how much of that comes from the workforce reduction. The company also said it is not renewing, and is exiting, certain contracts with negative gross margins inherited from earlier acquisitions.
Chief Executive Keyvan Mohajer, who signed the filing, said in the release that SoundHound’s technology has been “strengthened by technology from six pioneering businesses we have combined under SoundHound AI.” The filing does not attribute the job cuts to automation or AI replacing workers; it ties them to strategic priorities and profitability.
Third-quarter results
SoundHound reported third-quarter revenue of $62.4 million, up 48.5% from a year earlier, and a GAAP net loss of $46.4 million, compared with $109.3 million a year earlier. Its adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $20.7 million from $14.5 million. The company had $207.6 million in cash and cash equivalents at Sept. 30.
It projected 2026 revenue of $250 million to $260 million and 2027 revenue of $350 million to $400 million, and said it expects to reach sustained positive adjusted EBITDA in the second half of 2027, even at the low end of that guidance.
What it means for workers
For affected employees, the filing’s references to local consultation requirements mean the timing of notices may differ by country. In the U.S., large layoffs at a single site can trigger notice under the federal WARN Act or state laws, but no WARN notice tied to this plan was cited in the filing, and the company did not disclose affected locations. The 27% figure is a share of the company’s current global workforce after the LivePerson acquisition; SoundHound did not give a headcount, and none should be inferred from earlier employee totals.
Sources
- SoundHound AI, Inc., Form 8-K (Items 2.02, 2.05 and 9.01), filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, November 5, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1840856/000184085626000025/soun-20261105.htm
- SoundHound AI, Inc., “SoundHound AI Reports Record Q3 Revenue and Guides to Sustained Adjusted EBITDA Profitability within 2H 2027,” Exhibit 99.1, November 5, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1840856/000184085626000025/soun-20261105ex991earnings.htm
Featured photo: The office building at 5400 Betsy Ross Drive in Santa Clara, California, which housed SoundHound's headquarters when photographed on Sept. 4, 2022. Photo: Coolcaesar, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Cropped from the original.
