OpenAI Acquires Voice-Cloning Startup Weights.gg
OpenAI has quietly purchased Weights.gg, a startup that built tools for cloning human voices using artificial intelligence. The acquisition, completed earlier this year, included the company's small team and intellectual property. Weights.gg shut down its services in March.
The move contradicts OpenAI's stated position on voice synthesis. Two years ago, the company published research showing it had developed the ability to replicate human voices with high fidelity. OpenAI decided against releasing the technology publicly, citing caution about potential misuse.
Weights.gg operated as a social network where users could create and share AI algorithms. Its free consumer app, called Replay, let people generate voice clones. The platform's repository included clones of celebrities like Taylor Swift and Kanye West, members of the K-pop group Blackpink, and actors including Samuel L. Jackson.
The company's library also contained clones of copyrighted voices. Users had created versions of cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, as well as voices of political figures including President Trump and former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Terms of the OpenAI deal remain undisclosed. Two people with knowledge of the acquisition spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The acquisition signals that OpenAI continues developing voice-cloning technology despite its public caution. The company has not explained how it plans to use Weights.gg's technology or whether the tools will inform its own text-to-speech capabilities.
Professionals working with OpenAI tools should monitor how the company addresses voice synthesis going forward, particularly around authentication and consent for voice replication.
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