Seattle’s Nuance Labs raises $50M to give AI models human expression and nuance

Seattle-based startup Nuance Labs, founded by former Apple researchers, raised $50 million in a Series A round. The company is developing a single full-duplex model that simultaneously perceives tone, gaze, and timing of the interlocutor and generates facial expressions and voice reactions in real time. A public preview of the model is expected by the end of the year.

• Series A round of $50 million led by Lightspeed, with NVIDIA and Accel participating
• Total startup funding reaches $60 million including $10 million seed
• Model processes audiovisual signals and responds in real time
• Target areas: sales, customer support, coaching, and education