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AIQuiet 13d · day 13

Nuance Labs raises $50M Series A for real-time conversational AI avatars

Ex-Apple researchers secure funding to build unified model that perceives and responds with facial expression, gesture, and timing in real time.

newest coverage 13d agosummary written 13d ago5 pieces Newswires

What to know

  • Nuance Labs raised $50M Series A to build a unified AI model that processes speech, facial expression, gesture, and timing simultaneously—solving the fragmentation that makes current avatars robotic and laggy.
  • The company's full-duplex architecture streams perception and response at the same time, allowing avatars to react with verbal and nonverbal cues while the person is still speaking.
  • A public research preview is planned for later in 2026; success will show whether real-time conversational avatars require entirely new models or better product engineering.
  • The three founders spent years at Apple reconstructing people for Vision Pro telepresence, giving them deep expertise in audiovisual perception and generation.

“The most productive collaboration comes from being able to express yourself freely, in words, tone, gesture, and expression, the way you would with a friend or close colleague, with all the nuance in the back-and-forth that turns talking into understanding.”

Fangchang Ma, Co-founder and CEO of Nuance Labs · Nuance Labs announcement ↗

Fangchang Ma Co-founder and CEO of Nuance LabsEdward Zhang Co-founder of Nuance LabsKarren Yang Chief scientist and co-founder of Nuance LabsLightspeed Venture Partners Lead investor in Series A round

Nuance Labs raises $50M Series A for real-time conversational AI avatars
runtimewire.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articles

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  1. 1

    Nuance Labs announces $50M Series A funding

    Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round with participation from returning investors Accel and South Park Commons, plus new investors NVIDIA and Define Ventures. The company plans to open a research preview of its model to the public later in 2026.

    “The potential for AI and avatars to enhance our lives will never be achieved while they stare at you blankly or keep interrupting you.”
    — Fangchang Ma

    1. 1 outlet first by SiliconANGLE, 13d ago · read ↗

  2. background

    SEC filing reveals Series A fundraising underway — A regulatory filing showed Nuance Labs had sold $46.7 million toward a $60.8 million offering cap, with first sales on March 12, 2026, and Lightspeed partner Nnamdi Iregbulem named as a director.

  3. background

    Nuance Labs raises $10M seed round — The company secured $10 million in seed funding led by Accel and Lightspeed Venture Partners to develop its audiovisual foundation model.

  4. background

    Nuance Labs founded by ex-Apple researchers — Fangchang Ma, Edward Zhang, and Karren Yang founded Nuance Labs after working together at Apple on the Vision Pro's Digital Persona system and audiovisual generation projects.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 4 outlets Seattle's Nuance Labs raises $50M to give AI models human expression and nuance

    first by GeekWire, 13d ago · also WOWTALE, Nuance Labs, RuntimeWire

    2 more headlines