Overview
Step AI is a multimodal AI assistant launched by Step Star, based on a trillion-parameter model. The company was founded in April 2023 by Jiang Daxin, former Microsoft Global Vice President, with a valuation exceeding $17 billion, making it one of the leading AI financing companies in China. In May 2026, it released the StepAudio 2.5 real-time voice model, scoring 80.41 in paralinguistic perception (tone, pauses, chuckles, etc.), surpassing GPT-Realtime.
**Major Strategic Upgrade on July 13, 2026**: Step Star held a press conference in Shanghai, unveiling a trio of products—the world's first **Agent-native Operating System Step AOS** (Step Agentic-native OS, deeply restructuring hardware scheduling and system capability allocation to break down the three walls of memory, decision-making, and action), the large model-native AI terminal brand **STEPX**, the next-generation personal agent **Step Amoo** built on the model matrix and Step AOS, and the world's first large model-native agentic phone **STEPX Neo**. This marks Step Star's completion of the full technical loop from "foundation model → agent system → hardware terminal," extending from a pure software vendor to a full-stack "model + system + terminal" player, echoing ByteDance's recent move into agentic phones. The industry widely interprets this as a key step for large model companies to find a sustainable path for "terminal-driven commercialization."
Key Features
- Step AOS Agent-native Operating System (New): Released on July 13, 2026, the world's first operating system rebuilt for agents, deeply restructuring hardware scheduling and system capability allocation to break down the three walls of memory, decision-making, and action
- STEPX Neo Agentic Phone (New): The world's first large model-native agentic phone, powered by Step AOS, integrating model, system, and terminal
- Step Amoo Personal Agent (New): A next-generation personal agent built on the Step model matrix and Step AOS, serving as the core interaction layer for STEPX terminals
- Multimodal Interaction: Supports text, image, voice, and other input methods
- Real-time Voice Conversation: StepAudio 2.5 supports real-time voice interaction with leading paralinguistic perception, scoring 80.41, surpassing GPT-Realtime
- Code Generation: Strong programming assistance, supporting multi-language code generation
- Long Text Processing: Supports ultra-long context understanding and processing
Use Cases
- Everyday AI conversations and Q&A
- Real-time voice interaction scenarios
- Code development assistance
- Creative content writing
- Multimodal content understanding
- Early adopters and product professionals interested in the new "agentic phone" terminal form
Pros
- Trillion-parameter model with comprehensive capabilities
- Excellent StepAudio voice model experience, globally leading paralinguistic perception
- First to complete the full-stack model + system + terminal loop; Step AOS is the world's first agent-native operating system
- $17 billion valuation, technical strength recognized by capital
- Balanced capabilities in conversation, creation, and coding
Pricing
Step AI App/web version offers basic features for free, with advanced features paid. Pricing for the STEPX Neo phone hardware and Step AOS system is subject to official press conference announcements (specific retail prices were not disclosed at the press conference; please follow the official website for future launch information).
Summary
Step AI is a top-tier domestic large model product, with voice interaction as its differentiated highlight. **The strategic upgrade on July 13, 2026, is even more noteworthy**—Step Star is one of the first domestic companies to extend large model capabilities to operating systems and hardware terminals. The combination of Step AOS + STEPX Neo represents an early exploration of the new "agent-native" terminal paradigm, echoing ByteDance's simultaneous entry. Suitable for users needing multimodal AI assistants, and for product professionals tracking the "next-generation AI terminal form."
Version History
- Step AOS + STEPX Brand + STEPX Neo (2026/07/13): Shanghai press conference launched the world's first agent-native operating system Step AOS, terminal brand STEPX, personal agent Step Amoo, and the world's first large model-native agentic phone STEPX Neo, completing the model-system-terminal full-stack loop
- StepAudio 2.5 (2026/05): Released real-time voice model, scoring 80.41 in paralinguistic perception (tone/pauses/chuckles), surpassing GPT-Realtime