SoundHound AI stock (NASDAQ:SOUN) is a bellwether in the fast-growing voice artificial intelligence (AI) market that has attracted plenty of attention in the past year. Consequently, SOUN stock is up north of 132% year-to-date (YTD). However, with the incredible run-up in SoundHound AI stock, some would feel its ascent may be a bit overstretched. Yet, its extensive order backlog, dynamic partnerships in lucrative niches, and strides toward a robust moat underscore its potential. Hence, SoundHound AI stock is a buy, offering a healthy upside ahead.

Adding to its bull case, the company recently announced an agreement to repay its $100 million debt early. The deal allows SoundHound to effectively slash early payment costs while freeing up $14 million in restricted cash. Additionally, it will enable the firm to save upwards of $55 million in interest and fees.

Now debt-free, SoundHound has the impetus to continue enhancing and broadening its partnerships, as we explore in the following sections.

Strategic Alliances: Strengthening SoundHound’s Competitive Edge

With the growing competition in the voice AI space, companies like SoundHound must impress investors with major partnerships — and it has done exactly that. Moreover, the experience helps, considering it has been in the business for over 20 years.

SoundHound’s voice AI technology is making waves, particularly in the service and automotive industries. For instance, its sophisticated voice AI technology has effectively revamped fast-food operators White Castle’s drive-thru experience and Jersey Mike’s fast-food phone ordering system. This strategic deployment has cut operational costs for both fast-food players and added significantly to their service speed and accuracy.

Its breakthroughs are perhaps more pronounced in the automotive industry, where its AI-powered offering transforms the clunky in-car voice assistant landscape. The much-talked-about partnership with Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) to add ChatGPT to its plethora of car brands has set new standards for in-vehicle interactions.

The initiative has resulted in a massive sixfold increase in usage and a 50% increase in interaction frequency in the automobile giant’s luxury DS brand. Additionally, SoundHound has partnered with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) to implement voice-enabled generative AI on NVIDIA DRIVE platforms. Nvidia has been making major in-roads in autonomous technologies and has partnered with some of the biggest automotive brands. SoundHound could tap into even bigger market growth opportunities as the DRIVE platform continues to evolve.

Democratization of Voice AI: Leveling the Playing Field

The voice AI arena is a playground of opportunity, which has everything to do with the commoditization of key technologies such as speech recognition, natural language processing, and text-to-speech. With these tools becoming more affordable and accessible with every passing day, the barriers to entry in the niche are remarkably low, spelling trouble for established players like SoundHound.

Additionally, the development journey has become much smoother, with the top tech giants offering powerful development platforms studded with pre-built models and APIs. On top of that, you have an array of open-source resources, cutting development costs and complexity, allowing the smallest startups to bring fresh, innovative products to the market.

However, despite the competition, SoundHound has held its own and shown why it’s a standout player in its niche. The subscriptions and bookings backlog for the firm is at a whopping $682 million, growing roughly 80% year-over-year (YOY) in the first quarter (Q1). Sales during the quarter were up 73% YOY to $11.6 million, with a GAAP gross margin up at a superb 60%.

Bottom Line on SoundHound AI stock

SoundHound AI is a powerful force in the voice AI space, buoyed by its strategic debt repayment and expanding partnerships. Perhaps the partnerships that stand out are with Stellantis and Nvidia in the automotive space, which could potentially add millions in incremental sales.

These partnerships also transform the company from a young fledgling AI startup to a household name for voice recognition software. As a result, the company’s prospects will likely improve over time, strengthening long-term growth.

Furthermore, with a significant order backlog and solid financial performance, SoundHound remains well-positioned for expansion, making it a compelling bet for investors eager to tap into the expanding voice AI industry. Thus, even though the stock has already experienced stunning growth for the year, I recommend it as a buy with more gas left in the tank.

On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines

On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or
indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.