The adoption of voice AI across sales, marketing, customer support, and consumer applications has surged significantly in recent years. This growth has driven increased business for model providers and attracted considerable investor attention.

Reflecting this demand, Deepgram has announced a $130 million Series C funding round led by AVP, valuing the company at $1.3 billion. The round included additional investments from existing backers such as Alkeon, In-Q-Tel, Madrona, Tiger, Wing, and Y Combinator. New participants like Alumni Ventures, Columbia University, Princeville Capital, Twilio, and SAP also joined. To date, the company has secured over $215 million in total funding.

This raise follows a pattern of substantial voice AI funding rounds from the past year, including Seasame’s $250 million Series B, ElevenLab’s $180 million Series C, and Gradium’s $70 million seed round.

“In 2024, while discussing with enterprises how they were integrating AI into their operations, we began hearing about voice AI being used in areas like contact centers and sales development. Further conversations revealed that much of this technology was powered by Deepgram, which ultimately led us to them,” explained Saint-Aignan. She highlighted that voice AI can enhance customer interactions for enterprises while reducing operational costs, with Deepgram positioned to play a central role in this shift.

Deepgram offers a suite of models for text-to-speech and speech-to-text, alongside platforms and APIs designed for conversational speech recognition and low-latency interruption handling. The company reports that more than 1,300 organizations utilize its voice AI products and models, including meeting notetaker Granola, voice agent startup Vapi, and Twilio.

CEO Scott Stephenson noted that the company was not in urgent need of funding, having been cashflow positive the previous year. “Voice AI has now gone mainstream, and we see greater potential demand. We believe making larger investments sooner will accelerate our growth, which is why we felt the timing was right for this raise,” he said. “We weren’t actively seeking funding—multiple parties approached us. We aimed to partner with strategic investors who grasp the technical intricacies of voice AI and have relationships with companies building on this technology.”

The new capital will support Deepgram’s expansion of its global presence and improved multilingual capabilities. The company is also focusing on the restaurant industry through voice AI solutions. As part of this effort, it has acquired Y Combinator-backed Ofone, which developed a voice AI system for quick-service restaurants. The startup claims over 93% order accuracy.

Voice AI in the restaurant sector has faced challenges; last year, Taco Bell discontinued a voice AI pilot after an incident involving an order for 18,000 water cups. “I’m excited about voice AI-driven food ordering because it could be the first positive AI interaction for over 300 million Americans. Many past voice assistants have led to frustrating experiences, but when you can order food through natural conversation, people will feel the technology is truly ready,” Stephenson remarked.

Investor interest in this space appears strong, with Ofone’s acquisition following Presto—which serves brands like Carl’s Jr.—securing $10 million in new funding. Analysts project the voice AI market to grow at over 30% annually, reaching a value of $14–$20 billion by 2030. At this growth rate, model and API providers are poised to become multibillion-dollar companies by serving as core components for enterprises and startups developing voice solutions.