OpenAI Acquires A Startup Famous For AI Celebrity Voice Clones

OpenAI has quietly acquired Weights.gg, a startup specializing in AI voice cloning technology, according to a report by The New York Times. The deal includes the company’s intellectual property and its small team of employees, though financial details remain undisclosed. Weights.gg shut down operations in April 2026, with its website now displaying a farewell message confirming the closure. Before its shutdown, Weights.gg operated as a social platform where users could create, train, and share AI voice models through its consumer-facing app, Replay. The platform gained attention for its ability to replicate voices with high accuracy, including those of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Kanye West, and members of Blackpink, as well as political figures such as Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Users even cloned fictional characters, such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. OpenAI does not plan to revive Weights.gg as a standalone product. Instead, its employees have been distributed across internal teams, suggesting the company aims to integrate the technology into its own voice-related tools. OpenAI has already expanded its audio capabilities, offering voice-based APIs for developers and introducing features like real-time translation and AI voice assistants. The acquisition comes amid growing concerns about AI-generated voices. OpenAI previously acknowledged developing advanced voice replication systems but avoided public release due to misuse risks, opting to limit access to trusted partners. The industry has faced backlash, including legal threats from Scarlett Johansson over voice similarities and Taylor Swift’s trademark filings to protect her likeness. The move aligns with OpenAI’s broader strategy of strengthening its voice technologies behind the scenes. While the company continues to explore conversational AI, such as ChatGPT’s integration into Apple CarPlay, it remains cautious about publicizing unrestricted voice-cloning tools.