Shares of SoundHound AI (SOUN -0.60%) gained 14.4% over the course of April. The move up came as the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.77%) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.87%) had a particularly eventful month.

SoundHound, which develops advanced artificial intelligence (AI) voice technology, announced a significant partnership with Chinese tech giant Tencent, boosting its stock.

The Tencent partnership expands global reach

SoundHound announced that it will be working with Tencent Intelligent Mobility, part of Tencent's Cloud and Smart Industries Group (CSIG) business, to bring its conversational AI capabilities to the Chinese company's own automotive solutions. Using the company's tech, Tencent will enhance its Intelligent Mobility platform. Users will have access to personalized and AI-powered user experiences, providing drivers and passengers with hands-free access to a range of in-vehicle applications.

Tencent is a giant in China, and this partnership marks a significant leap into the massive market. The partnership also helps validate SoundHound's technology.

SoundHound claims it's the best around

SoundHound calls its technology "the most advanced in-vehicle voice assistant on the market." In the announcement, the company highlighted its voice assistant's ability to handle complex conversational questions while intelligently filtering responses for relevance -- key in the automotive space, where driver distraction is a critical concern. The company also addresses the risk of AI hallucinations -- another major concern when on the road -- with a proprietary approach.

Tencent offers support in 25 different languages and pays special attention to localized dialects, making it a great choice in the Chinese market.

Image source: Getty Images.

SoundHound wins an award

Boosting investor confidence further, SoundHound announced later in the month that its AIOps platform, Autonomics, was named a "market leader" in the 2025 ISG Buyers Guide for AIOps. Short for Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations, AIOps is a key market in AI, and SoundHound's top rating from the magazine helps further validate its technology and boost its profile.

"The reliability offered by SoundHound AI is evident in its capabilities to support critical business functions without interruption," said Jeff Orr, research director, IT & Technologies, ISG Software Research. "By prioritizing high availability, they empower enterprises to seamlessly integrate AIOps into their operations, fostering resilience in an ever-evolving environment."

Looking to the future

While these developments are certainly positive, I would stay away from SoundHound for the time being. The company's stock carries a hefty valuation, and I'm concerned about its ability to maintain pole position in a relatively niche market, given the scale of competition from major big tech companies.