Soul Machines

Soul Machines was a New Zealand-founded, San Francisco-headquartered deep-tech company that built lifelike, animated 'Digital People' - AI-driven avatars powered by a patented Digital Brain and Autonomous Animation technology modeled on human neuroscience. Spun out of the University of Auckland by Academy Award-winning technologist Dr. Mark Sagar and serial entrepreneur Greg Cross in 2016, it raised roughly US$135 million to bring emotionally responsive virtual humans to brands like Nestlé, P&G and the World Health Organization. After both founders departed and major customers moved on, the company was placed into receivership in February 2026.