Cerence Inc. is an American multinational software company that develops artificial intelligence (AI) assistant technology primarily for automobiles.
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Predecessor | Nuance Communications (automotive division) |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Headquarters | Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Key people |
|
| Products | Automotive AI, Voice assistant technology |
| Revenue |  US$328 million (2022) |
| −US$184 million (2022) | |
| −US$311 million (2022) | |
| Total assets | US$1.32 billion (2022) |
| Total equity | US$713 million (2022) |
Number of employees | c. 1,700 (2022) |
| Website | cerence |
| Footnotes / references [1][2] | |
History
editCerence was founded in October 2019, after Nuance Communications decided to turn its automotive division into an independent company.[3][4] Nuance had provided voice recognition technology to car manufacturers for twenty years prior to the spin-off, and its technology was built into half of the new cars shipped globally in the first six months of 2019.[3] Cerence's first official trading day on the Nasdaq exchange was October 2, 2019. The company assumed control of previously Nuance-held contracts with approximately 60 automakers including BMW, Ford, and Toyota.[3][4] Since becoming its own entity, Cerence signed new deals to install voice recognition and assistance technology in Fiat Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz vehicles.[5][6] In January 2020, LG announced that it would start integrating Cerence’s voice assistant into its in-car infotainment systems.[7]
As of August 2021, Cerence’s AI assistant technology had been installed on over 400 million cars worldwide.[8]
Cerence received an Automotive News PACE Award in September 2021 for Cerence Pay,[9] a technology that allows drivers to pay for fuel via voice commands.[10]
Products
editCerence develops automotive AI products, primarily focusing on voice assistant technology.[11][8] Its voice assistant technology is not device-specific, and is white-labeled for auto manufacturers.[4] The company's products integrate into a car's operating system and allow drivers to use speech for a variety of actions, for example to control their GPS, entertainment system, and climate settings rather than using manual controls.[6][7] Cerence's technology also incorporates facial recognition and customized responses to individual drivers.[4] As of 2021, Cerence's speech recognition software recognizes 70 different languages and dialects.[4] The technology can work with other voice assistant and AI devices such as those developed by Apple Inc. and Google. Drivers using the voice technology in their car can make a request and the Cerence software would help route it appropriately to the right system or virtual assistant that can best respond, essentially acting as a "switchboard" to access information from other AI and voice assistants.[4]
The company is also developing technology that provides drivers with the ability to control some in-car systems with brief glances or gestures.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ "Cerence Inc. 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. November 29, 2022.
- ^ Maffei, Lucia (December 15, 2021). "Cerence CEO is the latest public tech company chief to resign". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c Kinsella, Brett (October 2, 2019). "A Voice Giant is Born. Cerence Now Houses All of Nuance's Automotive Solutions and Customers". Voicebot. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Tansey, Bernadette (October 2, 2019). "Nuance Spinout Cerence Vies With Tech Giants in Voice-AI for Auto". Xconomy. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ Nash, Jim (March 24, 2020). "Busy biometric startup Cerence books three big car deals, launches services in March". Biometric Update. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ a b Schwartz, Eric Hal (December 18, 2020). "Mercedes-Benz Will Keep Using Cerence to Run Revamped MBUX Virtual Assistant". Voicebot. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ a b Torbet, Georgina (January 14, 2020). "LG is building its own in-car voice assistant". Engadget. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ a b Seitz, Patrick (August 9, 2021). "Automotive Artificial Intelligence Provider Drives Past Quarterly Targets". Investor’s Business Daily. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ Chappell, Lindsay (September 30, 2021). "Here are the 14 Automotive News PACE Award winners for 2021". Automotive News. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ Schwartz, Eric (July 7, 2021). "Cerence Brings Gas Station Payment Voice Commands to Europe". Voicebot. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ Maffei, Lucia (August 4, 2020). "Burlington automotive software firm Cerence thrives even as car sales fall". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ Barnden, Colin (September 25, 2020). "Time to Open Eyes to Eye Tracking". EE Times. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ Walford, Lynn (October 19, 2019). "More Research in Voice & Emotion Interaction from Cerence (Nuance)". Auto Connected Car News. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
External links
edit- Official website
- Business data for Cerence Inc.: