Sesame AI: A Bold Step Toward More Human-Like Conversations?

Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe has launched a new AI startup, Sesame, which aims to enhance voice assistants by making conversations feel more natural and engaging. The company’s AI assistant, Maya, is designed to improve upon existing models like Alexa and Gemini by offering a more interactive and fluid conversational experience. Early testing by tech journalist Sean Hollister suggests Maya demonstrates an impressive ability to adapt dynamically, even engaging in a Dungeons & Dragons-style exchange where it created an in-story character named after itself. This responsiveness, along with natural pauses, could make interactions feel more conversational than current voice assistants.

In addition to voice AI, Sesame is also developing AI-powered smart glasses, designed for all-day wear with high-quality audio and real-world awareness. The company, which has emerged from stealth mode with backing from Andreessen Horowitz and former Oculus investors, is led by Iribe, former Ubiquity6 CTO Ankit Kumar, and ex-Meta Reality Labs engineering director Ryan Brown. While specific details on the hardware are limited, early prototype images suggest a lightweight and discreet design.

One of Sesame’s distinguishing factors is its commitment to open-source AI models and a planned expansion to over 20 languages. The company’s dataset reportedly includes one million hours of publicly available audio, which fuels Maya’s conversational abilities. However, as with any early-stage AI innovation, it remains to be seen whether Sesame’s technology can truly bridge the gap between artificial and human-like conversation. While initial impressions are promising, the real test will be in its broader adoption and practical application.