SoundHound integrates HERE Mapping and Location data into Houndify

HERE Technologies, a global leader in location platform services, announced a partnership with SoundHound Inc., an innovator in voice-enabled AI and conversational intelligence technologies, to add a voice-first navigation experience to SoundHound Inc.’s Houndify voice AI platform.

The partnership provides Houndify developers the ability to apply real-world location data from HERE Technologies to their applications to improve the driver experience and enhance safety. Drivers will be able to activate navigation by simply speaking, as opposed to keying in the information or logging on to a secondary mobile app.

Houndify is the independent AI platform that enables developers and business owners to deploy a custom voice assistant anywhere and retain control of their brands and users. It provides all the ingredients necessary for voice and AI integration: fast speech recognition, sophisticated natural language understanding, custom wake words, easy to use developer tools, knowledge graphs, and a large and rapidly growing number of domains.

Developers will be able to fast-track the development of location-centric applications by leveraging the global map data and curated location content in combination with readily available location services, including rendering, search, routing, transit, and positioning. The integration will provide precise, end-to-end tracking and accurate, real-time and historical locations. This is especially useful in cars, where a vehicle’s ability to understand its precise positioning, retain contextual awareness of the environment, and store local knowledge of road rules is crucial. HERE provides mapping data on more than 200 countries for the newest Houndify domain.

“We are excited to partner with HERE and to bring their wealth of global mapping data and services to our Houndify customers, especially those in the automotive industry,” said Amir Arbabi, Vice President of Business Development at SoundHound Inc. “Adding HERE Technologies as a new Houndify domain will allow us to further expand our voice AI capabilities and provide a deeper set of location-based data for our global audience.”

“Adding HERE to the Houndify platform will help to provide a seamless experience for developers adding voice navigation or location awareness to the consumer applications they’re building,” said Kirk Mitchell, SVP and GM, Americas at HERE Technologies. “We’re thrilled to partner with SoundHound Inc. to provide a safer, more natural way for consumers to engage with mobile navigation applications.”