Tavus Overview

Tavus is a San Francisco-based AI research lab pioneering Human Computing — teaching machines the art of being human.

Mission

"Automation has scaled efficiency but stripped away empathy, nuance, and presence from digital interactions."

Tavus exists to close the gap between humans and machines by creating AI that can see, hear, understand, and respond with emotional intelligence in real time. Not chatbots with faces — authentic, face-to-face digital presence.

What is Human Computing?

Human Computing is a paradigm shift: computing that adapts to humans, not the other way around.

Core principles:

Human UI: Interact with AI as naturally as talking to another person — no commands, no learning curve
Presence over automation: AI that feels like someone, not something
Emotional intelligence: Reading tone, expressions, context — not just words

The Conversational Video Interface (CVI)

CVI is Tavus's flagship product — an API-first platform for real-time, face-to-face AI conversations.

What makes CVI different from chatbots/avatars:

Real-time interactive conversation (not pre-rendered video)
~600ms latency utterance-to-utterance
Reads facial expressions, interprets tone, adapts in real-time
Full orchestration: function calling, RAG, memories
White-labeled, embeddable, enterprise-ready

CVI Components:

Component	What it does
Replica	The visual avatar — your AI's face and appearance
Persona	Behavior, personality, LLM config, system prompt
Conversation	A live WebRTC session connecting replica + persona

The Model Stack

Tavus builds proprietary models that work together to create human presence:

Phoenix-4 (Rendering)

Gaussian-diffusion model for photorealistic face rendering. Synthesizes high-fidelity facial behavior with:

Micro-expressions and subtle movements
Full-face animation (not just lips)
Real-time emotional response
Identity preservation

Raven-1 (Perception)

Multimodal perception model that lets AI "see":

Reads facial expressions and body language
Detects emotions and intent
Analyzes environment and screen content
Contextual awareness

Sparrow-1 (Turn-Taking)

Transformer-based dialogue model for natural conversation flow:

Knows when to listen, pause, or speak
~600ms response latency
Handles interruptions naturally
Multilingual support

Products

Conversational Video Interface (CVI)

API-first platform for developers to embed real-time AI video conversations.

Full pipeline: perception → STT → LLM → TTS → rendering
Customizable layers (bring your own LLM/TTS)
Knowledge base (RAG) and memories
Function calling for external integrations

Video Generation API

Async video generation from scripts or audio.

Personalized videos at scale
Custom backgrounds and watermarks
Transparent background support

Replica API

Create digital twins from 2 minutes of training video.

Studio-grade fidelity
Stock replicas available
Identity preservation

PALs (Personal AI Lifeforms)

Consumer-facing AI companions that remember, evolve, and connect.

Text, call, or video chat
Persistent memory
Proactive check-ins

Use Cases

Sales & Recruiting: AI SDRs, interviewers, qualification flows
Education: Tutors, trainers, onboarding
Healthcare: Patient companions, training simulations
Customer Support: 24/7 face-to-face assistance
Personal: Companions, coaches, productivity assistants

Key Stats

2B+ interactions powered
~600ms utterance-to-utterance latency
30+ languages supported
SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA compliant (enterprise)

Company

Founded: 2021 by Hassaan Raza & Quinn Favret
HQ: San Francisco
Backed by: Sequoia, Scale Venture Partners, Y Combinator, HubSpot
Category: Human Computing / AI Research Lab

Pricing Tiers

Tier	Minutes	Replicas	Concurrency
Free	25	Stock only	1
Starter ($59/mo)	100	1 custom	3
Growth ($397/mo)	1,250	3 custom	15
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Custom + SLAs

Ethics & Trust

Tavus is built on:

Informed consent: Every likeness used with permission
Transparent systems: No hidden levers
Full disclosure: You know how the magic works
Bias reviews: Active monitoring and advisory oversight

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