What is Soul Machines?
Soul Machines is an Auckland, New Zealand company founded in 2016 by Academy Award-winning researcher Mark Sagar and entrepreneur Greg Cross. It creates 'digital people' — hyper-realistic, autonomously animated avatars driven by a patented Digital Brain that models human physiology so faces react with lifelike expressions, gaze, and emotional responsiveness in real time. Unlike pre-rendered avatar video tools, Soul Machines' digital humans hold live, two-way conversations.
Platform and use cases
Its Human OS platform and studio let enterprises design digital workers connected to conversational AI and LLMs for customer service, brand ambassadors, education, health coaching, and entertainment experiences. The company has built digital twins of celebrities and brand characters, and in 2025 launched AI-powered digital workforce offerings for healthcare and enterprise.
Funding
Soul Machines has raised about $135M in total, including a $70M Series B1 in February 2022 led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 with Temasek, Salesforce Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Cleveland Avenue, and Liberty City Ventures participating.