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“Would you like fries with that?”
Imagine pulling up to a Burger King drive-thru. But instead of the crackly voice of a harried employee asking for your order, you’re greeted by a perfectly pleasant AI voice assistant. It understands your mumbled request for a “Whapper with cheese” (yes, even with that mispronunciation), asks if you’d like to make it a meal, suggests a limited-time dessert, and processes your payment—all without human intervention.
This isn’t science fiction. It’s SoundHound AI’s voice ordering technology in action, recently showcased at the National Restaurant Association Show where attendees witnessed a live demonstration of Burger King UK’s implementation of their “Dynamic Drive-Thru” solution.
While fast-food restaurants nationwide struggle with staffing issues and rising labor costs, SoundHound’s AI voice ordering system has been silently revolutionizing drive-thrus. The system can understand complex orders, handle modifications, upsell with remarkable effectiveness, and even process payments faster than most human workers.
Beyond voice ordering: A comprehensive restaurant AI ecosystem
What makes SoundHound’s approach particularly impressive is the comprehensiveness of their restaurant solutions. Their booth at the National Restaurant Association Show didn’t just showcase one product but an entire ecosystem of voice AI technologies transforming every aspect of restaurant operations.
Their end-to-end, omnichannel voice AI platform powers ordering and support across front of house, back of house, and off-premise channels. Beyond the Dynamic Drive-Thru demo featuring Burger King UK, attendees could experience “Smart Ordering” for AI-powered phone orders, “Smart Answering” that handles inbound calls using business-specific data, and “Employee Assist”—an AI coach providing instant answers to restaurant staff on the job.
Even more revolutionary is their in-car voice commerce platform—the first of its kind allowing drivers to order takeout directly from their car’s infotainment system. Visitors at the showcase could place real-time orders from SoundHound’s restaurant partners, pay hands-free, and navigate to the nearest pickup location, all using voice commands.
To deliver this technology at scale, SoundHound has partnered with companies like Acrelec, Elo, Samsung, Stream, and HME, who provide the displays, enclosures, audio, and headset technology supporting SoundHound’s demonstrations.
But despite pioneering such impressive technology, SoundHound AI’s stock has behaved like it’s riding the world’s most extreme rollercoaster.
From boom to bust… and back again?
SoundHound AI has had a wild ride on the stock market. Despite being down 44% year-to-date in 2025, it’s still up an eye-popping 70% over the past 6 months.
And just this Monday, the stock surged nearly 23% on news of reduced US-China tariffs, highlighting its extreme volatility.
Founded over two decades ago as Midomi, an online music identification platform (similar to Shazam), the company pivoted to voice AI technology with its Houndify platform in 2015—years before ChatGPT made everyone obsessed with AI. This first-mover advantage in voice technology is what has captured investors’ attention.
But while investors debate whether SoundHound is the next big AI opportunity or just another overvalued tech company, let’s dig into what’s actually happening with the business itself.
Impressive growth, concerning financials
SoundHound’s Q1 2025 results tell an interesting story. Revenue skyrocketed 151% to $29.1 million compared to the same quarter last year. That’s the kind of growth that makes investors salivate. But it’s also slightly below what analysts expected, which partly explains the recent stock decline.
More concerning is the company’s profitability—or lack thereof. SoundHound reported an adjusted net loss of $0.06 per share and negative $22.2 million in adjusted EBITDA. And while that’s slightly better than last year’s loss of $0.07 per share, it’s still deeply in the red.
The company’s gross margin is also raising eyebrows. At just 36.5%, it’s remarkably low for a company that generates revenue through royalties and subscriptions. Software companies typically enjoy margins above 70%, where SoundHound was in late 2023 before its recent acquisitions.
Acquisitions: Strategic expansion or integration headache?
Speaking of acquisitions, SoundHound has been on a shopping spree. In January 2024, it acquired SYNQ3, a restaurant voice AI business, and in August 2024, it purchased Amelia AI for $80 million.
These acquisitions were strategic moves to expand SoundHound’s reach. Amelia is particularly strong in healthcare, financial services, and retail—complementing SoundHound’s existing strength in automotive and restaurant industries.
But integrating acquisitions is notoriously difficult, and SoundHound is already facing challenges. The company had to delay filing its annual 10-K report with the SEC due to “material weaknesses in internal controls” related to the acquisitions. This delay, combined with the lower gross margins from the acquired businesses, spooked investors.
The AI battlefield: David vs. many Goliaths
Here’s where things get interesting. SoundHound is positioning itself as the independent alternative to big tech’s voice assistants. While Google, Amazon, and Apple want to put their branded assistants everywhere, SoundHound offers a white-label solution.
When a car manufacturer like Hyundai uses SoundHound’s technology, they can create their own branded voice assistant with unique wake words and personalities instead of just embedding Google Assistant or Alexa. This positioning has helped SoundHound win deals with major automotive companies trying to reduce their dependence on big tech.
This automotive strategy aligns perfectly with their in-car voice commerce platform showcased at the restaurant show. By creating an ecosystem where drivers can order food directly through their car’s infotainment system, SoundHound is building a moat that connects their restaurant AI solutions with their automotive partnerships—creating a powerful network effect that could be difficult for competitors to replicate.
In fact, SoundHound claims its technology outperforms Google’s by achieving 20% better accuracy with 4 times better latency. Against OpenAI’s Whisper model, it claims to be 26% to 36% more accurate on various benchmarks while using models one-tenth the size.
But competing against tech giants with virtually unlimited resources is never easy, especially for a company that’s still struggling to reach profitability.
The road ahead: Boom or doom?
SoundHound has maintained its full-year forecast of $157-177 million in revenue for 2025, which would represent impressive growth. It also expects to reach adjusted EBITDA profitability by the end of 2025.
But with a price-to-sales ratio of about 35 times 2025 estimated revenue, the stock is priced for perfection. Any stumble in execution could send shares plummeting further.
The company also faces market challenges beyond its control. The recent surge in its stock price came after the US and China announced a temporary reduction in tariffs. While SoundHound doesn’t directly manufacture hardware, its partnerships with Chinese companies like Tencent (which recently integrated SoundHound’s voice AI into its automotive cloud solutions) benefit from reduced trade tensions.
The bottom line
SoundHound represents both the promise and peril of investing in emerging AI companies. On one hand, its voice technology is genuinely impressive and solving real business problems. Its growing backlog of contracted future revenue (now at $1.2 billion) suggests strong demand.
On the other hand, its financial metrics reveal a company still figuring out how to turn technological advantages into sustainable profits. With gross margins under pressure and significant cash burn, SoundHound needs everything to go right to justify its current valuation.
For investors, the question isn’t whether SoundHound’s technology works—it clearly does. The question is whether the company can scale efficiently, successfully integrate its acquisitions, fend off deep-pocketed competitors, and reach profitability before its cash reserves dwindle.
Like that perfect AI voice taking your burger order, SoundHound makes a great first impression. But in the cutthroat world of AI technology, it’s long-term performance that ultimately matters.
Disclaimer – This article draws from sources such as the Financial Times, Bloomberg,and other reputed media houses. Please note, this blog post is intended for general educational purposes only and does not serve as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. It may contain forward-looking statements, and actual outcomes can vary due to numerous factors. Past performance of any security does not guarantee future results.This blog is for informational purposes only. Neither the information contained herein, nor any opinion expressed, should be construed or deemed to be construed as solicitation or as offering advice for the purposes of the purchase or sale of any security, investment, or derivatives.The information and opinions contained in the report were considered by VF Securities, Inc.to be valid when published. Any person placing reliance on the blog does so entirely at his or her own risk, and does not accept any liability as a result.Securities markets may be subject to rapid and unexpected price movements, and past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Investors must undertake independent analysis with their own legal, tax, and financial advisors and reach their own conclusions regarding investment in securities markets.Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
