SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Voice artificial intelligence is moving fast from novelty to necessity. Businesses now use voice AI to sell products, answer customer questions, and automate support. That demand is driving big money into the sector. On the back of this growth, Deepgram has raised $130 million in new funding, pushing its valuation to $1.3 billion and placing it firmly among the top players in the voice AI market.
Deepgram announced the Series C round this week. Venture firm AVP led the investment. Existing backers also added fresh capital. They include Alkeon, In-Q-Tel, Madrona, Tiger Global, Wing, and Y Combinator. New investors joined as well. Among them were Alumni Ventures, Princeville Capital, Twilio, SAP, and Columbia University.
With this round, Deepgram has raised more than $215 million in total funding. The company said it was already cash-flow positive last year. CEO Scott Stephenson said the startup did not need to raise money but chose to do so to move faster. Voice AI demand has surged across industries. Enterprises now deploy voice tools in sales calls, contact centers, and internal workflows. Investors see this shift as long-term and structural.
Elizabeth de Saint-Aignan, a partner at AVP, said voice AI kept coming up in talks with enterprise customers. Companies described how they used AI to improve customer interactions and cut costs. Many of those systems relied on Deepgram’s technology.
She said voice AI can make conversations smoother and more human. At the same time, it helps companies handle large volumes of calls without hiring more staff. Deepgram, she said, plays a central role in that transformation. Analysts expect the global voice AI market to grow more than 30% each year. Estimates suggest it could reach $14 billion to $20 billion by 2030. Model and API providers could become multibillion-dollar businesses as a result.
San Francisco-based Deepgram develops speech-to-text and text-to-speech models. It also offers APIs for real-time conversational AI. Its technology handles interruptions and delivers low-latency responses. That speed matters in live conversations.
More than 1,300 organizations use Deepgram’s voice AI products. Customers include meeting note-taking app Granola, voice agent startup Vapi, and communications giant Twilio. The company also works with major clients such as NASA and Amazon Web Services. Stephenson said voice AI has gone mainstream over the past year. He added that nearly every digital product now explores adding voice features. That shift has created strong demand for reliable infrastructure.
Deepgram plans to use the new funding to expand internationally. The company aims to grow in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. It also plans to support more languages. Deepgram currently supports more than 50 languages. The company will also invest in new models and large computing purchases. Stephenson said strategic investors with deep technical knowledge helped guide the decision to raise funds.
“We wanted partners who understand voice AI at a deep level,” he said. “They also needed strong relationships with companies building on this technology.”
Deepgram is making a major push into the restaurant industry. As part of that effort, it acquired OfOne, a Y Combinator-backed startup focused on voice AI for quick-service restaurants. OfOne built systems for drive-thru and phone ordering. The startup claims its technology achieves more than 93% order accuracy. That figure matters in an industry where mistakes are costly and frustrating.
Voice AI has struggled in restaurants before. Last year, Taco Bell ended a pilot after a customer placed a massive prank order. Stephenson acknowledged those challenges but said the technology has improved. He said food ordering could become one of the first positive voice AI experiences for millions of people. Natural conversations, he said, can help change public perception after years of clunky voice assistants.
Deepgram’s raise follows other large deals in voice AI. Sesame raised $250 million in a Series B round. ElevenLabs secured $180 million in Series C funding. Gradium closed a $70 million seed round. Restaurant-focused startup Presto also recently raised $10 million. Together, these moves signal strong confidence in voice AI.
