Vapi nabs $50M to make voice AI more human
Voice artificial intelligence startup Vapi Inc. said today it has raised $50 million in new funding to change the way people talk to computers, experience phone calls and interact with customer support.
Vapi builds voice AI infrastructure, the middleware that connects AI models, such as OpenAI Group PBC’s GPT and Anthropic PBC’s Claude models to voice-to-text and text-to-voice engines. It allows low-delay responses with interruptability, making conversations feel natural.
Peak XV led the Series B funding round, with participation from Y Combinator, Microsoft Corp.’s venture fund M12, Kleiner Perkins and the company’s earliest investors. This round brings the company’s total funding to $72 million.
Voice agents, such as Siri, ChatGPT voice, and Gemini, have made their debuts in public consciousness, becoming increasingly personable. People have become used to talking to their devices, using them as personal assistants. Voice agents have also slowly made their way into phone banks, making hotel appointments, acting as a concierge for restaurant orders, checking shipments and more.
