Soul Machines Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Soul Machines was acquired by AppDirect in September 2026.
Cumulative funding Soul Machines raised
$120M
across 5 funding rounds
Key investors in Soul Machines
Salesforce Ventures
Temasek
Horizons Ventures
Auckland UniServices
SoftBank Group
ICONIQ Capital
Lakestar
Cleveland Avenue
About Soul Machines
Soul Machines is an Auckland-headquartered AI company building digital humans for customer interactions. Founded in 2016 in New Zealand, it deploys Autonomous Digital Humans powered by Digital Brain technology for brands like Mercedes-Benz and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The platform supports real-time conversations in 20 languages via web, app, and metaverse environments, enhancing engagement in retail and aviation sectors.
Founded
2016
HQ
San Francisco, CAWebsite
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Subscription
Valuation
$250M (Feb 2022)
Soul Machines Acquisition
Soul Machines was acquired by AppDirect for an undisclosed price on 28 September 2026.
Before the acquisition Soul Machines had raised $120M across 5 funding rounds.
On September 28, 2026, AppDirect, Inc. acquired Soul Machines Ltd., an AI-avatar and human-centered digital-experience company. The transaction was an acquisition rather than a financing round, and its financial terms were not disclosed. Soul Machines is expected to operate as a standalone business within AppDirect’s portfolio. The acquisition adds Soul Machines’ autonomous digital teammates, AI-avatar technology, Digital Brain, and animation capabilities to AppDirect’s B2B subscription-commerce platform. AppDirect plans to make the technology available through Devs.ai, its platform for building and managing business AI applications, and to support more interactive experiences across sales, service, support, commerce, and employee workflows. The combination is intended to give AppDirect’s advisors, partners, and business customers alternatives to text-based AI interfaces while expanding Soul Machines’ distribution through AppDirect’s partner ecosystem and enterprise commerce infrastructure. Soul Machines is an experiential-AI company known for autonomous digital teammates, human-like AI avatars, and human-centered digital experiences. AppDirect operates a B2B subscription-commerce platform serving advisors, partners, businesses, and approximately 16 million subscribers, with gross ARR reported as approaching $1 billion.
| Acquirer | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Sep 2026 | Strategic M&A |
Sources: businesswire.com, businesswire.com, appdirect.com
Soul Machines Valuation
Soul Machines is currently valued at $250M, based on its Series B in February 2022.
The $70M round was led by SoftBank Group, with participation from Temasek, Salesforce Ventures, Cleveland Avenue, Liberty City Ventures, Horizons Ventures and 1 other investor.
Soul Machines valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 2022 | Series B | $250M |
Soul Machines Funding History
Soul Machines has raised a total of $120M across 5 funding rounds.
Soul Machines' first fundraising round was a $8M Series A in November 2016. The most recent completed round was a $6M Series A in June 2024.
Soul Machines funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2024 | Series A | - | $6M | - | - |
| Feb 2022 | Series B | SoftBank Group (lead); Temasek; Salesforce Ventures; Cleveland Avenue; Liberty City Ventures; Horizons Ventures; Solasta Ventures | $70M | $250M | Soul Machines, founded in 2016 by Greg Cross and Academy Award-winning technologist Mark Sagar, develops autonomously animated digital people using its Biological AI and Digital DNA platforms, which model the human nervous system to create avatars capable of real-time emotional interactions and conversations without scripted inputs. The company targets enterprise applications in customer service, training, entertainment, and the metaverse, serving clients like Procter & Gamble, the World Health Organization, and major banks. On February 14, 2022, Soul Machines announced a $70 million Series B1 funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from new investors Cleveland Avenue, Liberty City Ventures, Solasta Ventures, and existing investors Temasek Holdings, Salesforce Ventures, and Horizons Ventures. This brought total funding to $135 million, intended to fuel enterprise market growth, deep tech R&D on Digital Brain technology, and development of hyper-realistic digital twins for digital entertainment. One source references a November 2022 Series B round of $70 million led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 valuing the company at over $250 million post-money, with participation from Temasek, Lotte Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures, funding expansion of its Biological AI platform. This appears to align closely with the February announcement, potentially reflecting the same or extended round. Soul Machines differentiates from competitors like Synthesia and HeyGen, which focus on pre-recorded AI video, by offering fully autonomous digital humans for unscripted interactions. Positioned as an early bet on digital human technology before the 2023 generative AI boom, it emphasizes human-like emotional responses and identity in AI avatars. |
| Jan 2020 | Series B | Temasek (lead); Salesforce Ventures; Horizons Ventures; Auckland UniServices; Lakestar | $37M | - | - |
| Oct 2018 | Strategic investment | Mercedes-Benz; Auckland UniServices | - | - | Mercedes-Benz and the University of Auckland Inventors Fund invested in Soul Machines in October 2018 as part of a funding round that aimed to raise about US$20 million. Mercedes-Benz put in US$7 million by convertible note on 1 October, and UniServices, which manages the Inventors Fund, committed US$2 million as part of a wider US$8 million offer, while two existing investors had contributed US$5 million in June. UniServices executive Andy Shenk said Soul Machines was exactly the kind of company the Inventors Fund was designed to support, because the fund invests early in university spin-outs with transformative intellectual property and long-term growth potential. Soul Machines was spun out of the University of Auckland in 2016 and builds emotionally responsive digital avatars based on cognitive models that simulate human thought processes. It had grown from 12 staff at launch to 87 employees, with offices in Melbourne, San Francisco, New York and London. The investment was reported on 29 October 2018. |
| Nov 2016 | Series A | Horizon Ventures (lead); ICONIQ Capital | $8M | - | Horizons Ventures led a $7.5 million Series A financing in Soul Machines in November 2016, with participation from ICONIQ Capital. The round was the company's initial financing and coincided with its public launch. Phil Chen of Horizons Ventures joined as executive chairman alongside the investment. Auckland UniServices, the commercialisation arm of the University of Auckland, assigned the related intellectual property and research contracts to the company in return for a shareholding. Soul Machines is an Auckland-based developer of emotionally responsive, human-like digital avatars. The technology stems from the Baby X research of co-founder Mark Sagar at the university, and the company was founded in 2016 by Sagar and Greg Cross. Financial terms beyond the round size were not disclosed. |
Who has invested in Soul Machines?
12 investors have backed Soul Machines across its funding rounds, including Salesforce Ventures, Temasek, Horizons Ventures, Auckland UniServices, SoftBank Group and ICONIQ Capital.
Lead investors include SoftBank Group, Temasek and Horizon Ventures.
Soul Machines Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Singapore | 2 | Lead | Jan 2020 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Participant | Jan 2020 | |
 Hong Kong | 2 | Participant | Jan 2020 | |
 Auckland | 2 | Participant | Oct 2018 | |
 Stuttgart | 1 | Participant | Oct 2018 | |
| Chicago, IL | 1 | Participant | Feb 2022 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 1 | Participant | Nov 2016 | |
 Tokyo | 1 | Lead | Feb 2022 | |
| New York City, NY | 1 | Participant | Feb 2022 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 1 | Lead | Nov 2016 | |
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialSoul Machines Competitors
Soul Machines competitors include listed companies like Redwood AI and Fractal Analytics, and private ones like Lamini, Course5 Intelligence, CryptoGPT and Granola.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | Private | - | - | $200M | - | |
 Canada | Publicly listed | - | ($384K) | $46M | - | |
 India | Publicly listed | $347M | $50M | $1.4B | 3.4x | |
| Mumbai | Private | $50M | - | $250M | 5.0x | |
| Singapore | Private | - | - | $250M | - | |
 London | Private | - | - | $250M | - |
Soul Machines Public Comps
Soul Machines is no longer listed, but its public comps include Vrain Solution, AInnovation Technology, Ropeok Technology Group, Appen, Expert.ai, Coveo Solutions, eVISO, DSC Holdings, CS Disco and Winner Technology.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $21M | $6M | 11.5x | 8.7x | 38.9x | - | |||
| $227M | ($30M) | 0.6x | 0.7x | (4.9x) | (3.9x) | |||
| $23M | ($28M) | 13.9x | - | (11.4x) | - | |||
| $231M | $9M | 0.7x | 0.6x | 17.0x | 6.9x | |||
| $51M | $5M | 4.1x | 3.9x | 40.6x | 26.4x | |||
| $148M | ($25M) | 1.6x | 1.5x | (9.5x) | 86.8x | |||
| $381M | $11M | 0.5x | 0.4x | 15.5x | 12.5x | |||
| $102M | ($10M) | 1.1x | - | (11.9x) | - | |||
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Common questions about Soul Machines
| When was Soul Machines founded? | Soul Machines was founded in 2016. |
| Where is Soul Machines headquartered? | Soul Machines is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Soul Machines publicly listed? | No, Soul Machines was acquired by AppDirect in September 2026. |
| Who acquired Soul Machines? | Soul Machines was acquired by AppDirect in September 2026. |
| What is Soul Machines' valuation? | Soul Machines was last valued at $250M in its Series B in February 2022. |
| How much funding has Soul Machines raised? | Soul Machines has raised $120M across 5 funding rounds. |
| What was Soul Machines' last funding round? | Soul Machines' last funding round was a $6M Series A in June 2024. |
| Who are Soul Machines' investors? | Soul Machines' investors include Temasek, Salesforce Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Auckland UniServices, Mercedes-Benz, Cleveland Avenue, ICONIQ Capital, SoftBank Group, Liberty City Ventures, Horizon Ventures and 2 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Soul Machines? | Companies comparable to Soul Machines include Lamini, Redwood AI, Fractal Analytics, Course5 Intelligence, CryptoGPT and Granola. |
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