Announcement • Sep 06

SoundHound AI, Inc. Announces Appointment of John Collins as Chief Financial Officer

SoundHound AI, Inc. announced the successful completion of its acquisition of LivePerson, Inc., and the appointment of John Collins as the combined company’s Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, Collins will focus on accelerating SoundHound AI’s path to sustainable profitability, while maintaining its strong growth trajectory and disciplined approach to capital allocation. Collins, age 43, brings over 15 years of leadership experience at the intersection of enterprise software, data science, capital markets, corporate finance, and artificial intelligence. With a rare blend of operator expertise, financial stewardship, and entrepreneurial vision, he has previously been a founder, as well as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Interim Chief Executive Officer at LivePerson. Throughout his career, Collins has consistently met the strategic and financial needs of the business, from supporting R&D innovation and high growth, to driving cost-optimization initiatives that yielded free cash flow and improved operational efficiency. Notably, Collins led a transformation from more than $100 million of annual cash burn to positive free cash flow in a single year while supporting double-digit growth, executed cost-reduction programs in excess of $200 million, and led multi-year debt restructurings that captured $227 million of debt discount, improving liquidity and shifting enterprise value from debt holders to equity holders. This proven background in managing complex enterprise infrastructure equips Collins to drive the financial integration of SoundHound AI and LivePerson post-close, helping to create a world leader in AI for customer service. The holder of both a JD and an MBA, Collins will oversee the combined company's financial strategy with a focus on accelerating margin expansion, enforcing tight cost discipline, and driving seamless operational synergies to capitalize on SoundHound AI’s expanded footprint and the rapidly growing agentic AI market. John D. Collins served as Chief Financial Officer of LivePerson since February 2020 and Chief Operating Officer of LivePerson since January 2024, and Interim Chief Executive Officer of LivePerson from August 2023 to January 2024. Prior to joining LivePerson in September 2019 to lead the development of automations and machine learning to support strategic decision making and predictive analytics as SVP of Quantitative Strategy, Mr. Collins co-founded Thasos in 2013, a New York City-based predictive intelligence company powering large-scale equity trading platforms. Mr. Collins earned his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Institute of Technology, his M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his B.S. from the University of Central Florida.

Announcement • Sep 04

SoundHound AI, Inc. (NasdaqGM:SOUN) completed the acquisition of LivePerson, Inc. (NasdaqGS:LPSN) from a group of shareholders.

SoundHound AI, Inc. (NasdaqGM:SOUN) executed letter of intent to acquire LivePerson, Inc. (NasdaqGS:LPSN) from a group of shareholders on March 9, 2026. SoundHound AI, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LivePerson, Inc. from a group of shareholders for $45.2 million on April 21, 2026. As part of consideration, SoundHound AI, Inc. will issue common shares to the shareholders of LivePerson, Inc. SoundHound is acquiring LivePerson for an equity value of $43 million, representing approximately a 22% premium over the corresponding 30-day volume-weighted average value. At closing, SoundHound expects to receive $74 million of LivePerson’s cash balance prior to repayment of the 2026 Convertible Senior Notes. After taking into account significant discounts on LivePerson’s remaining debt, the transaction implies a total enterprise value of $250 million. At closing, SoundHound will retire the discounted debt with a mix of cash and equity, at SoundHound’s discretion. The combined company is expected to have a strong balance sheet with no debt. Upon completion, LivePerson, Inc. will operate as wholly owned subsidiary of SoundHound AI, Inc. In case of termination of transaction, LivePerson, Inc. will pay a termination fee of $5 million plus the Company’s transaction expenses which is capped at $3.75 million. The transaction is subject to approval of offer by shareholders of LivePerson, Inc., registration statement effectiveness(S-4 / F-4), listing / approval of new shares on stock exchange customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. The deal has been unanimously approved by the board of directors. As of June 25, 2026, the transaction was approved by the relevant Italian and Canadian regulatory authorities on June 25, 2026. As of June 29, 2026, the transaction was approved by the relevant German regulatory authority. As of July 1, 2026, the transaction was approved by the relevant United Kingdom regulatory authority. As of July 20, 2026, the final foreign investment clearance was received by the relevant Bulgarian authority. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026. On August 7, 2026, it was announced that Glass Lewis & Co. has recommended that LivePerson stockholders vote "FOR" the proposed transaction with SoundHound AI, Inc. On August 12, 2026, Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended that LivePerson stockholders vote "FOR" the proposed transaction with SoundHound AI, Inc. and related proposals ahead of the upcoming Special Meeting of Stockholders on August 20, 2026. On August 20, 2026, the scheduled Special Meeting of Stockholders was convened and immediately adjourned to September 2, 2026. On September 2, 2026, the transaction has been approved by the shareholders of LivePerson. Luke Bergstrom, Max Schleusener and Lauren Lefcoe of Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to SoundHound AI, Inc. Philip Richter, Mark Hayek, Adam Cohen, Ben Clark, Daniel J. Bursky, John Lawrence, Michael J. Alter, Amy L. Blackman, Peter L. Simmons, Tobias Caspary and Chris Mathiesen of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP with offices in Brussels, London and the US acted as legal advisors to LivePerson, Inc. Barclays Capital Inc. acted as financial advisor to SoundHound AI, Inc. Lazard Freres & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to LivePerson, Inc. Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. acted as fairness opinion provider and financial advisor to LivePerson, Inc. Pursuant to its engagement by the LivePerson board of directors, Houlihan Lokey became entitled to a fee of $1,500,000, of which $150,000 became payable upon its retention by the LivePerson board, $150,000 became payable on April 6, 2026 upon notice from LivePerson that Houlihan Lokey should continue to proceed in its work, and the remainder became payable to Houlihan Lokey upon the delivery of its opinion. MacKenzie Partners, Inc. acted as information agent to LivePerson and will receive a base fee of approximately $40,000. Equiniti Trust Company, LLC acted as transfer agent to LivePerson. SoundHound AI, Inc. (NasdaqGM:SOUN) completed the acquisition of LivePerson, Inc. (NasdaqGS:LPSN) from a group of shareholders on September 4, 2026. Following an extensive executive search, SoundHound AI has selected John Collins to join the company as its Chief Financial Officer. With the transaction closed, LivePerson common stock will cease trading on the Nasdaq stock market.

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SoundHound AI, Inc. Announces Appointment of John Collins as Chief Financial Officer

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