AppDirect acquires AI avatar maker Soul Machines to embed digital humans in Devs.ai

AppDirect, a San Francisco B2B subscription commerce platform, did not disclose terms. Soul Machines' avatars will be built into Devs.ai, AppDirect's platform for creating and managing business AI tools. Any user will be able to add an interactive avatar to an internal or customer-facing project. Planned uses include customer support, onboarding and training, employee help desks and commerce assistance. Chris Herd is general manager of Soul Machines inside AppDirect. AppDirect announced the deal just before its Thrive conference in Los Angeles, held Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. It will sell the avatars through its network of technology advisors. Soul Machines, founded in New Zealand, was one of the early well-funded digital human companies. For builders, the deal shows one path for AI interface companies: become a feature inside a platform that already has a partner channel instead of selling a standalone product. Standalone avatar vendors face pricing pressure as model providers add native voice and video.