Smallest.ai raises $13M to accelerate the development of its asynchronous voice AI architecture
The momentum behind voice artificial intelligence is accelerating with Smallest.ai becoming the latest startup in this emerging niche to secure more funding. Officially known as Smallest Inc., it said today it has closed on a $13 million Series A investment led by Seligman Ventures, with participation from Sierra Ventures and 3one4 Capital, which were the main backers in its $8 million seed funding round in October. The round brings Smallest.ai’s total amount raised to date to over $21 million.
Even more importantly, it chose the occasion to debut a new asynchronous speech-to-speech model called Hydra that’s based on its most advanced “Voice 4.0” architecture, designed to make AI conversations more natural, responsive and scalable.
The startup highlights the enormous potential of a global voice AI industry that’s currently valued at just $2.4 billion annually. According to a study by Market.US, that market is expected to grow to more than $47.5 billion by the end of 2034, at which point it’s likely that a substantial percentage of AI interactions will be enabled through voice. But we’re not there yet, with AI currently accounting for less than 1% of the world’s voice interactions, and there are good reasons for that.
