
Sesame
Sesame is an AI startup developing groundbreaking conversational voice technology that aims to cross the uncanny valley with its natural, emotionally intelligent speech model that can engage in genuine dialogue.
https://www.sesame.com/research/crossing_the_uncanny_valley_of_voice?ref=aipure

Product Information
Updated:May 16, 2025
Sesame Monthly Traffic Trends
Sesame experienced a 51.0% decline in traffic, likely due to the data privacy incident involving unauthorized log-in activity, which could have exposed user information. This incident may have eroded user trust and led to a significant drop in visits.
What is Sesame
Founded by former Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe and backed by major investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Spark Capital, Sesame is revolutionizing human-AI interaction through their Conversational Speech Model (CSM). The company has developed AI voice assistants named 'Maya' and 'Miles' that can engage in natural conversations with unprecedented emotional expressiveness and conversational fluidity. Their technology represents a significant step forward in creating AI companions that sound and interact in ways that feel genuinely human-like.
Key Features of Sesame
Sesame is a pioneering AI voice technology company that has developed the Conversational Speech Model (CSM), which aims to create more natural and emotionally intelligent voice interactions. Their technology combines emotional intelligence, conversational dynamics, and contextual awareness to achieve 'voice presence' - making spoken interactions feel real and valued. The company plans to open-source their models under Apache 2.0 license and currently offers a demo featuring two AI voices (Maya and Miles) that demonstrate remarkably human-like speech capabilities.
Emotional Intelligence: Ability to read and respond to emotional contexts, adjusting tone and expression accordingly
Real-time Conversational Dynamics: Natural timing, pauses, interruptions and emphasis in speech that mimics human conversation patterns
Contextual Awareness: Capability to adjust tone and style based on the situation and conversation history
Multi-speaker Support: Features multiple voice personalities (Maya and Miles) with consistent and appropriate presence
Use Cases of Sesame
Personal Digital Assistants: Creating more engaging and natural-feeling AI assistants for daily tasks and interactions
Customer Service: Providing more human-like automated customer support with appropriate emotional responses
Educational Technology: Developing more engaging and responsive virtual tutors and learning assistants
Healthcare Communication: Offering empathetic virtual health assistants for patient interaction and support
Pros
Highly natural and emotionally expressive voice interactions
Plans to open-source models under Apache 2.0 license
Low latency and smooth response time
Cons
Currently limited primarily to English language
Still has issues with interruptions and conversation flow
May create unrealistic expectations of emotional connection with AI
How to Use Sesame
Visit the demo page: Go to https://www.sesame.com/research/crossing_the_uncanny_valley_of_voice#demo
Allow microphone access: When prompted, grant microphone permission to enable voice interaction with the AI
Choose an AI companion: Select either 'Maya' or 'Miles' as your conversation partner
Start speaking: Begin talking naturally with the AI companion. The system will respond in real-time with contextually appropriate responses
Note browser requirements: For best results, use Google Chrome browser. Audio quality may be degraded in iOS/Safari 17.5
Be aware of recording policy: Note that calls are recorded for quality review but are deleted within 30 days and not used for ML training
Review terms: By using the demo, you agree to Sesame's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Sesame FAQs
CSM is a multimodal text and speech model that aims to achieve 'voice presence' - making spoken interactions feel real, understood and valued. It uses transformers to generate natural-sounding conversational speech by understanding context, emotion, and prosody.
Analytics of Sesame Website
Sesame Traffic & Rankings
5.1M
Monthly Visits
#13310
Global Rank
#1
Category Rank
Traffic Trends: Jan 2025-Apr 2025
Sesame User Insights
00:03:55
Avg. Visit Duration
2.78
Pages Per Visit
47.91%
User Bounce Rate
Top Regions of Sesame
US: 25.42%
VN: 7.71%
IN: 5.25%
GB: 3.83%
CA: 3.57%
Others: 54.22%