Company Description
Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ: CRNC), also referred to as "Cerence AI" in its communications, is a United States-based software company focused on conversational, AI-powered user experiences across automotive and transportation. The company develops mobility-based software solutions for drivers and their cars and states that its technology has shipped in more than 525 million cars. Cerence partners with automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), their tier 1 suppliers, transportation OEMs, and technology companies to power in-car assistants and related AI experiences.
Cerence is classified in the Software Publishers industry within the Information sector. According to its own descriptions, it creates intuitive, seamless, AI-powered experiences that aim to make journeys safer, more connected, and more enjoyable for drivers and passengers. Its revenue is generated by selling software licenses and cloud-connected services. The company is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts and notes that it has operations globally with a worldwide team focused on AI innovation.
Core business and technology focus
Cerence develops conversational AI and related technologies specifically tailored to automotive and transportation use cases. It highlights expertise in voice, generative AI, and large and small language models, which underpin its platforms and agents. The company’s mobility-based solutions are designed to enable natural, voice-first interaction between drivers, passengers, and vehicles, with the goal of integrating deeply into vehicle systems and broader automotive workflows.
One of Cerence’s central platforms is Cerence xUI™, described as a hybrid, agentic AI platform for in-vehicle and automotive ecosystem experiences. xUI is positioned as modular and technology-agnostic, enabling OEMs to integrate first- and third-party models, data sources, and agents. Cerence states that xUI supports multi-step conversational threads, multimodal interaction, and enhanced personalization, helping transform in-car assistants from reactive systems into proactive, context-aware companions.
Products, platforms, and AI agents
According to recent company announcements, Cerence’s offerings include:
- Cerence xUI™: A hybrid, agentic AI platform that runs across cloud and edge environments. It is powered by CaLLM™, Cerence’s family of automotive-grade large and small language models. xUI is described as supporting multi-intent recognition, multi-seat interactions, and features such as "Say What You See" (SWYS), which allows users to control user interface elements by voice.
- CaLLM™ and CaLLM™ Edge: Automotive-focused language models that power xUI and related experiences. CaLLM Edge is highlighted as running on various chipsets and on partner hardware, with an emphasis on faster performance, lower latency, and reliable in-car interaction even without connectivity.
- Domain-specific AI agents: Cerence has introduced agents such as a dealer assist agent for automotive dealerships and an ownership companion agent for drivers. The dealer assist agent is described as automating lead capture, test drive booking, and service scheduling while integrating with dealership CRM and DMS platforms. The ownership companion agent supports drivers with diagnostics, interpreting alerts, scheduling service, and helping them discover and use advanced in-car features.
- Mobile work AI agent: Developed in collaboration with Microsoft and running on xUI, this agent provides voice-first access to Microsoft 365 Copilot, including Teams, Outlook, and OneNote, with integration into vehicle systems for tasks such as navigation suggestions based on work calendars.
- Audio AI portfolio: Cerence describes a suite of Audio AI solutions that include multi-speaker and multi-zone capabilities, speech signal enhancement, noise reduction, signal processing, and emergency vehicle detection, all aimed at improving in-cabin communication and voice assistant performance.
Customer base and market reach
The company states that its customers include all automobile OEMs or their tier 1 suppliers. Cerence reports that more than 525 million cars have shipped with its technology, and that a significant percentage of worldwide auto production includes Cerence technology over a trailing twelve-month period, as disclosed in its financial communications. It also notes that its revenue is derived from multiple geographic regions, with a majority from the United States and additional presence across Other Americas, Germany, other parts of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and other Asia-Pacific markets.
Cerence emphasizes collaborations with major technology and semiconductor companies. For example, it has highlighted work with NVIDIA, Microsoft, and SiMa.ai. Cerence xUI is described as being optimized with NVIDIA AI Enterprise and running on Microsoft Azure, and CaLLM Edge has been demonstrated on SiMa.ai’s machine learning system-on-chip. These collaborations are presented as enabling higher performance, lower latency, and efficient deployment of in-vehicle generative AI.
Strategic direction and ecosystem expansion
Beyond in-vehicle assistants, Cerence has described a strategy to extend its conversational and agentic AI into broader areas of the automotive ecosystem and into additional enterprise verticals. The dealer assist agent and ownership companion agent are presented as examples of this expansion, creating a service loop between vehicle and dealership and supporting customer engagement across the ownership lifecycle. Cerence has also indicated that the agentic sales and service experience enabled by its dealer assist agent can be adapted to markets beyond automotive that rely on high-volume customer engagement and complex workflows.
The company’s communications also reference its efforts to protect and monetize its intellectual property, including litigation and a cross-license agreement with Samsung that resulted in a one-time payment, as disclosed in an 8-K filing. Cerence has described this as part of its broader IP monetization and protection efforts.
Capital markets and financial profile
Cerence’s common stock trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol CRNC. The company has reported that it generates revenue primarily from software licenses, including fixed license contracts, and cloud-connected services. It has discussed key performance indicators such as the percentage of worldwide auto production with Cerence technology and changes in connected cars shipped. Cerence has also disclosed the existence of convertible senior notes due 2028 and has announced repurchases of a portion of these notes at a discount to par, describing this as a way to reduce interest expense, potential dilution, and leverage.
Through its SEC filings, Cerence provides details on its financial results, restructuring plans, and other material events. For example, it has disclosed restructuring plans related to certain foreign operations aimed at reducing operating expenses, as well as retention and equity award arrangements for senior executives, all subject to the terms described in its filings.
Recognition and industry positioning
Cerence has been recognized in industry awards programs. Its xUI platform was named "AutoTech AI Solution of the Year" in the AutoTech Breakthrough Awards, which the company cites as reflecting the value xUI delivers for OEMs and end users. In its own descriptions, Cerence characterizes itself as a global industry leader in AI-powered experiences for automotive and transportation, supported by decades of work in voice and related technologies.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cerence Inc. (CRNC)
- What does Cerence Inc. do?
Cerence Inc. is a software company that develops conversational, AI-powered user experiences for automotive and transportation. It focuses on mobility-based solutions for drivers and their cars, including in-car assistants, AI agents, and audio AI technologies that are integrated with vehicles and automotive workflows. - How does Cerence generate revenue?
According to its company description, Cerence generates revenue by selling software licenses and cloud-connected services to automobile OEMs, their tier 1 suppliers, transportation OEMs, and technology partners. - Who are Cerence’s primary customers?
The company states that its customers include all automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or their tier 1 suppliers. It also works with transportation OEMs, technology companies, and automotive dealerships through its AI agents and platforms. - What is Cerence xUI?
Cerence xUI is described as a hybrid, agentic AI platform that powers next-generation in-car assistants and related experiences. It uses Cerence’s CaLLM language models, supports multimodal and multi-intent interaction, and integrates first- and third-party agents and data sources to deliver natural, context-aware conversations in the vehicle and across the automotive ecosystem. - What is CaLLM and CaLLM Edge?
CaLLM is Cerence’s family of automotive-grade large and small language models that power xUI and other AI experiences. CaLLM Edge is a small language model variant designed to run on edge hardware in the vehicle, providing faster performance, lower latency, and reliable interaction even when cloud connectivity is limited. - How widely used is Cerence technology?
Cerence reports that more than 525 million cars have shipped with its technology. It also discloses key performance indicators such as the percentage of worldwide auto production that includes Cerence technology over a trailing twelve-month period. - Where is Cerence headquartered and where does it operate?
The company states that it is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, and that it has operations globally with a worldwide team. It reports deriving a majority of its revenue from the United States, with additional revenue from Other Americas, Germany, other Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and other Asia-Pacific regions. - What is Cerence’s stock symbol and where is it listed?
Cerence Inc.’s common stock trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol CRNC. - What are Cerence’s AI agents for the automotive ecosystem?
Cerence has introduced a dealer assist agent that automates sales and service workflows for dealerships, and an ownership companion agent that supports drivers with diagnostics, service scheduling, and feature discovery. It has also developed a mobile work AI agent with Microsoft for voice-first access to Microsoft 365 Copilot in the vehicle. - How does Cerence describe its role in the automotive industry?
In its own materials, Cerence describes itself as a global industry leader in creating AI-powered experiences across automotive and transportation, leveraging decades of work in voice, generative AI, and language models to support safer, more connected, and more enjoyable journeys.