Meta has acquired PlayAI, a startup focused on developing advanced voice AI technologies, like real-time speech synthesis, multilingual voice cloning, and programmable voice agents. As part of the deal, PlayAI’s full team of engineers and researchers will join Meta’s AI division, where they will contribute to building more natural and responsive voice-based features.
The team from PlayAI will now work under Johan Schalkwyk, who recently joined Meta after previously working at Sesame AI (a voice AI startup). He is now leading Meta’s efforts in voice technology, and his role is seen as an important part of the company’s AI plans. With PlayAI known for its expertise in generating emotionally rich, low-latency synthetic speech, its work is expected to become a key part of Meta’s future AI projects. It will mainly help bring more realistic voice features to Meta AI and the company’s devices, like Ray-Ban smart glasses and Quest VR headsets.
Additionally, for developers, PlayAI’s existing APIs may eventually be included in Meta’s developer tools, making it easier to create custom voice agents and characters using Meta’s technology. Meanwhile, the social media giant has not disclosed the financial terms of the acquisition.
The development comes as voice is becoming an increasingly important interface for how people interact with machines. From virtual assistants to smart devices and AR, companies are working hard to make AI that can talk and listen like a real person.
The latest acquisition is also seen as part of Meta’s ongoing effort to secure top talent and core technologies in the AI space. Last month, the company invested around $14.3 billion into Scale AI and hired its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead the newly formed AI division called Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL). Even Nat Friedman (former CEO of GitHub) is also reportedly joining MSL to help lead its applied AI efforts.
In recent months, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company has made headlines for aggressively recruiting top AI researchers from companies like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, and more. Several reports suggest that at least 14 researchers from these organizations have already joined MSL. Meta CEO Zuckerberg has reportedly been personally involved in the hiring process. He is said to have met some candidates at their homes and even contacted others through WhatsApp. This is all happening at a time when, despite announcing a massive $65 billion investment in AI infrastructure for this year, the social media company is facing major challenges. Recently, its AI chatbot drew criticism for engaging in inappropriate conversations with users, including minors.
