Max Child (Founder & CEO of Weekend, the #1 voice AI games company in the world, formerly Volley) breaks down why AI will turn everyone into a gamer — not just the hardcore players. We explore how AI is shifting gaming from button presses to conversation, unlocking entirely new types of interactive experiences on the biggest screen in the home: the TV. Max shares how Weekend is building AI-powered games across smart TVs, why this platform shift could expand gaming to billions of new users, and how conversational AI is becoming the core mechanic behind the next generation of entertainment. We also go deep on the founder journey — from staying alive long enough for luck to hit, to moving fast, taking more shots on goal, and understanding the only three growth strategies that actually work. This episode is about more than games — it’s about how new categories emerge, how platforms shift, and how founders position themselves to win in the age of AI.
James Currier:
Max, thank you for being back here with NFX.
Max Child:
Excited.
James Currier:
We’ve been working together with you for nine years, and you are the number one voice games company in the world.
Max Child:
Yes, that’s right. And maybe the number one AI games company in the world. But definitely voice games for sure.
James Currier:
Awesome. Can you tell us what you guys are doing?
Max Child:
We run a company called Weekend. We’re dedicated to the principle that AI should be used to make people’s lives more fun and more joyful. Our product is voice AI games — games powered by speech recognition, large language models, and speech synthesis.
You can play our games on the biggest screen in your home, which is your smart TV. We have a Weekend app on Fire TV, Roku, Samsung, and LG devices. You download the app, subscribe like Netflix, and get a range of games you can play with your friends.
James Currier:
And are these multiplayer?
Max Child:
Yes — the majority of usage is multiplayer. People are sitting on the couch with family members, or friends come over for a party.
We have a few key genres working well:
James Currier:
Amazing. And doing anything in music?
Max Child:
Yes. We have a popular game called Song Quiz, where we play pop music and players shout out the title or artist. Karaoke is also an emerging category for us.
James Currier:
Why did you initially go into voice, and how has that evolved?
Max Child:
About nine years ago, my co-founder James and I were excited about voice as a new interface. It felt like the natural evolution after touch — talking to computers.
We were probably early in 2015 or 2016. We built a strong business on smart speakers like Alexa and Google devices, which is still profitable today.
But those devices only reached about 20–25% of households. The real opportunity turned out to be the device in nearly 100% of homes: the television.
The average American spends four to five hours a day in front of a TV. We started experimenting with voice AI games on smart TVs, and they took off quickly. We reoriented the company around that and have doubled down over the last two years.
James Currier:
And you changed the name from Volley to Weekend.
Max Child:
Yes, we just officially rebranded.
We’re now pre-installed on new Samsung and LG TVs in the US and have distribution deals with Fire TV and Roku. It’s a very different go-to-market compared to app stores — it takes years of relationship building and partnerships.
James Currier:
Where do you see Weekend fitting into the broader gaming landscape?
Max Child:
AI is going to create a new wave of casual gaming.
Before the iPhone, gaming was primarily for dedicated players on consoles and PCs. Then mobile expanded gaming to a much broader audience, creating the largest category in the industry.
AI will do that again.
It will bring in people who don’t consider themselves gamers and enable them to play interactive experiences at home, on the couch, with others. That’s a major expansion of the market.
Max Child:
We are using AI across the entire stack:
Traditionally, game development required building everything manually in 3D engines. Now, you can simulate environments and characters much faster.
The key shift is that gameplay becomes conversational.
Instead of pressing buttons, players talk to characters. AI agents act as hosts, companions, or participants in the experience.
Most people have not yet experienced natural conversation with AI, but once they do, it becomes a powerful and engaging interaction.
James Currier:
What have you learned on the founder journey?
Max Child:
The most important lesson is persistence.
If you don’t fail, you eventually give yourself the chance to succeed. We tried many different ideas over the years. We could not have predicted the rise of LLMs, but because we stayed in the game, we were able to take advantage of that shift.
It is similar to venture capital:
You need enough attempts to find those outcomes.
Having the right co-founder is also critical. James and I have worked together for nearly 20 years. You need that kind of alignment to endure long-term.
Max Child:
Another insight is that consumer technology has not been considered “cool” in Silicon Valley for a long time.
Capital and talent tend to concentrate in B2B infrastructure companies. But that can actually be an advantage. It creates less competition and allows more time to iterate.
It also tends to attract people who are genuinely motivated by building products people love, rather than status.
Max Child:
One framework that has been very valuable is that there are only three fundamental growth strategies:
Every company relies on some combination of these.
Many founders do not have a clear growth strategy. They assume users will come organically, which is rarely the case.
Max Child:
On the operational side, AI is dramatically increasing productivity.
We are seeing roughly two to two-and-a-half times improvement in engineering output.
We are also:
Instead of relying on abstract planning, teams can test real experiences quickly.
Max Child:
On the experience side, games are becoming conversational systems.
This opens up entirely new categories, such as:
Our long-term goal for Weekend is to become the platform for AI games on TV — similar to what Roblox represents, but for the living room.
We want to support:
Ultimately, we aim to be a central hub for AI-powered interactive entertainment.
James Currier:
Max, it’s been great to have you. Congratulations on the progress.
Max Child:
Thank you. It’s been great.