Creative GenerationVerified
Reviewed and published by trentmaziarz, May 11, 2026. Discovered and drafted by our automated research pipeline.
Spawning AI co-founders Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst deployed Holly+, a publicly available AI instrument trained on Herndon's voice that allows anyone to upload audio and generate a version sung in Herndon's voice.
Details
Holly+ is a machine learning voice model trained on hours of musician Holly Herndon's own singing voice, built in collaboration with Voctro Labs. Users can upload an audio file and receive back a version of that audio rendered in Herndon's processed voice, in real time and in any language. Holly+ operates under a governance model using a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), where submitted works can be minted as NFTs and proceeds shared among the creator, DAO members, and Herndon. The project, which premiered at Sonar Festival in 2021, is described by Spawning's LinkedIn page as the first experiment with consensual interactions around an artist AI model.
Products affected
Holly+
Sources & Evidence
News Article
Cite this record
Trace Foundation. (2026). Spawning AI: Spawning AI co-founders Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst deployed Holly+, a publicly available AI instrument trained on Herndon's voice that allows anyone to upload audio and generate a version sung in Herndon's voice (data as of 2026-05-11) [Data set record]. AI Trace. https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/a2636975-ca0b-45af-b16b-ed670028da38. Accessed October 5, 2026.
- Stable link
- https://www.aitrace.org/r/practice/a2636975-ca0b-45af-b16b-ed670028da38
- Data as of
- May 11, 2026
- Last verified
- April 21, 2026
Other practices by Spawning AI
ProductivitySpawning AI offers the Data Diligence package, an API and open-source Python library that automates the checking of media URLs against opt-out registries so AI developers can filter out creator-restricted content before training their models.Data AnalysisSpawning AI offers Source.Plus, a marketplace that uses classifier models to detect nudity, gore, and personally identifiable information in images, helping AI developers curate consenting, high-quality training datasets.OtherSpawning AI offers Kudurru, a network-based tool that detects web scrapers collecting images for AI training and allows website owners to block them or send back substitute images.
Have evidence about Spawning AI's AI practices? Submit a report.
Report a Sighting →