Agora adds voice locking and avatars to conversational AI

Agora’s new features give its real-time video stack more conversational AI capabilities, centered on voice locking, vision-based intelligence, and interactive avatars. For the streaming and video-app ecosystem, that signals continued product work around richer live interaction rather than basic playback or delivery features. The concrete marker to watch is whether Agora expands these features beyond the World Artificial Intelligence Conference announcement into named products or customer deployments.

In the months leading up to the WAIC showcase, Agora has demonstrated a significant strategic pivot toward AI-integrated services. According to a company announcement in March 2025, Agora launched its Conversational AI Engine to address the lack of native voice optimization in many existing large language models. This engine is specifically designed to work on top of the TEN framework, a community-driven initiative for real-time engagement. To scale these operations, Agora partnered with Oracle in May 2025, leveraging Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to minimize the 'near-zero lag' latency required for natural human-to-AI dialogue.

Financial data reflects the impact of this AI-centric shift. Per Sahm Capital reporting in May 2026, Agora's Q1 revenue rose 13.5% year-over-year to $37.75 million, marking its sixth consecutive quarter of GAAP profitability. CEO Tony Zhao noted during the earnings call that the launch of 'Agent Studio' and new AI agent templates significantly contributed to this growth, even as the company faces gross margin pressure due to the sub-scale nature of its newer conversational AI products. Despite these costs, the international segment—which excludes the China-based Shengwang business—saw a 5.7% revenue increase in fiscal year 2024, driven largely by expansion in live shopping.

The broader industry context for these developments is the rapidly expanding AI avatar market. Per data cited by Medium and Percify in early 2026, the global avatar market is projected to reach $500 billion by 2030. In 2023 alone, 'VTubers' and virtual streamers like Neuro-sama generated over 1.1 billion hours of watch time. Agora’s focus on 'voice locking' and synchronized visual movement targets this specific high-growth niche, aiming to move virtual avatars from pre-rendered video into truly reactive, real-time digital humans capable of handling complex social environments.