Exclusive: Voice AI startup Phonely raises $16M
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Phonely, which develops business AI agents, raised a $16 million Series A, CEO Will Bodewes tells Axios exclusively.
The big picture: Businesses continue automating customer interactions, with some organizations using AI for up to 70% of total customer contact.
Follow the money: The round was led by Base10 Partners, with participation from Y Combinator, Etech Global Services, TSA Group and Engage CX.
How it works: The SF-based company builds AI voice agents that answer business phone calls and handle tasks like qualifying leads or booking appointments, as well as providing analytics support.
- The company says it drove more than $10 million in insurance policy sales for one customer this year, with strongest use cases in insurance and legal.
Zoom in: Phonely trains its voice-optimized models to replicate how people actually speak.
- "A lot of these large language models were trained on text data," Bodewes says. "We've built in the 'ums' and the 'uhs' so our AI communicates more naturally over the phone."
State of play: Voice AI is gaining momentum with investors, with multiple large Q1 raises.
- ElevenLabs, an AI audio startup, raised $500 million in Series D funding at an $11b valuation in February.
- Decagon AI, a conversational customer support startup, raised $250 million Series D at a $4.5 billion valuation in January.
- Deepgram, a speech-to-text platform, raised a $130 million Series C at a $1.3 billion post-money valuation in January.
