Sesame

Lifelike conversational voice AI companions and ambient intelligence, from the team behind viral voices Maya and Miles.

Hand-reviewed by the Toolglade team·Updated Aug 2026

audio#voice-ai#conversational-ai#companion

Free plan Claimed Self-hosted Mobile app

Toolglade’s take

One of the most convincing conversational voice demos to date, but Sesame is still an early-stage preview and research product rather than a finished, broadly supported app. Treat access as limited and evolving.

About Sesame

Sesame is a voice AI company behind the viral Maya and Miles conversational agents, known for unusually natural, expressive and interruptible speech. Users can try the voices free via a browser research preview and a mobile preview app, while developers can self-host the open-source CSM-1B model. Sesame is also building intelligent eyewear for hands-free voice agents, targeted for 2027.

Sesame AI is a Bay Area company creating personal voice agents designed to feel natural rather than robotic. Its research preview voices, Maya and Miles, went viral in early 2025 for speech that includes breaths, pauses, disfluencies and the ability to be interrupted mid-sentence, powered by the company's Conversational Speech Model (CSM). Beyond the browser demo, Sesame is rolling out a mobile preview app and is developing lightweight intelligent eyewear that lets people talk to their agent hands-free, targeted for 2027. Founded by Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe, the company frames its mission as bringing ambient, voice-first intelligence into everyday life.

TL;DR

Sesame is a voice AI company behind Maya and Miles, conversational agents that went viral for their unusually natural, interruptible speech. Users can try the voices free through a browser research preview and a mobile preview app on iOS and Android. Developers can self-host the open-source CSM-1B speech model, and Sesame is building intelligent eyewear targeted for 2027. There is no publicly announced consumer pricing, and the product remains an early preview.

Company overview

Sesame AI Inc. is a Bay Area company founded by Brendan Iribe, co-founder and former CTO of Oculus, alongside co-founders including Ankit Kumar and Ryan Brown. It describes itself as an interdisciplinary team of artists, makers and engineers focused on bringing ambient, voice-first intelligence into daily life.

The company gained wide attention in February 2025 when its demo voices, Maya and Miles, went viral for sounding strikingly human. Sesame has since expanded from a browser demo into a mobile preview and is developing intelligent eyewear as a hardware platform for its agents.

Product features

Sesame's core technology is its Conversational Speech Model (CSM), which produces speech with natural intonation, breaths, disfluencies and emotional expression, and supports real-time, interruptible dialogue. The consumer-facing experience centers on personal voice agents, notably Maya and Miles, accessible through a browser research preview and a mobile preview app.

For developers, Sesame open-sourced its base model CSM-1B under the Apache 2.0 license, allowing self-hosted speech generation. Looking ahead, the company is building lightweight intelligent eyewear with quality audio so users can converse with their agent hands-free, planned for 2027.

Target market

Sesame targets curious early adopters who want the most natural-sounding, voice-first AI experience, along with AI and voice researchers and developers drawn to its open-source model. Its future eyewear extends the target market to mainstream consumers seeking ambient, hands-free assistance, though today the audience is primarily preview users and technologists rather than enterprise buyers.

Buyer personas

End users

Tech-curious individuals and early adopters who enjoy natural spoken conversation with AI, want to think out loud, or seek an ambient voice companion for everyday moments.

Buyers

Currently there is no paid consumer plan; end users simply access the free preview. Future buyers would be consumers purchasing Sesame's intelligent eyewear once available.

Key influencers

AI enthusiasts, voice-tech commentators, developers experimenting with the open-source CSM model, and media covering conversational AI and wearables.

Ideal customer profile

An early-adopter consumer or developer who values best-in-class, natural voice interaction, is comfortable using preview-stage products, and is interested in voice-first, hands-free AI rather than a stable, enterprise-grade commercial platform.

Funding & performance

Sesame raised a Series A of approximately $47.5 million led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in early 2025, followed by a reported $250 million Series B in late 2025 led by Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital. Investors and figures may be updated as official disclosures change.

Pros & cons

Pros

Exceptionally natural, human-like voices with breaths, pauses and emotion
Voices can be interrupted and respond in real time
Free to try via browser and mobile preview
Open-source CSM-1B model available for developers under Apache 2.0
Backed by an experienced team (Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe) and major investors
Clear roadmap toward hands-free intelligent eyewear

Cons

Still an early preview and research product, not a polished mainstream app
Access and features are limited and can change without notice
Primarily English-focused, with limited multilingual support
No public consumer pricing, API or broad third-party integrations yet
Eyewear and full product experience are not yet available (targeted 2027)

Pricing plans

Research & Mobile Preview

Free

Talk to Maya and Miles voices in the browser demo
Sesame mobile preview app on iOS and Android
Natural, interruptible spoken conversation
No paid consumer plan publicly announced

CSM (Open Source)

Free

CSM-1B speech model released under Apache 2.0
Self-hostable by developers and researchers
Available on GitHub and Hugging Face
For technical, research and experimental use

Key features

Mobile app

Self-hosted

Input types

voice

Output types

voice

Best For

natural voice conversations, thinking out loud, voice AI research, hands-free companion use

Compare key features

View all alternatives →

Feature

Sesame

Cartesia

Hume AI

Pricing

Free

Freemium

Free plan

Yes

Free trial

Yes

API

Yes

Self-hosted

Yes

Team support

Yes

Frequently asked questions

What is Sesame and who are Maya and Miles?+

Sesame is a conversational voice AI company building lifelike personal agents. Maya and Miles are its two demo voices, one warmer and female-sounding, one male-sounding, that went viral in early 2025 for speech that feels remarkably natural, complete with breaths, pauses and the ability to be interrupted mid-sentence.

Is Sesame available and how do I try it?+

Yes. You can talk to Maya and Miles for free in your browser through the Research Preview at app.sesame.com, and download the Sesame mobile preview app on iOS and Android. It is still an early preview, so features and availability may be limited and change over time.

Is Sesame open source?+

Partly. Sesame open-sourced its base Conversational Speech Model, CSM-1B, under the Apache 2.0 license, so developers can download and self-host it from GitHub or Hugging Face. The full Maya and Miles product experience, however, is not open source.

How is Sesame different from ChatGPT voice mode?+

Both offer real-time, interruptible spoken conversation, but Sesame is focused specifically on voice presence and personality, aiming for maximally natural, emotionally expressive speech. ChatGPT is a broader general-purpose assistant, while Sesame is a specialized voice AI company also building dedicated hardware.

Is Sesame making AI glasses?+

Yes. Sesame is developing lightweight intelligent eyewear with high-quality audio so users can talk to their agent hands-free throughout the day. The company has said this eyewear is coming in 2027.