Smallest.ai raises $13 million to build faster, more human-sounding AI calls

In short: Smallest.ai raised $13 million to develop voice AI for customer support calls that aims to sound and respond more like a human.

What happened

Smallest.ai, a startup founded in late 2024, announced a $13 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Seligman Ventures, with participation from Sierra Ventures and 3one4 Capital. The company said this brings its total funding to more than $21 million.

Smallest.ai is focused on voice AI, meaning software that can talk with people on the phone. The company’s goal is to reduce the awkward pauses and robotic timing that often give away that you are speaking with a machine.

Its approach uses a smaller, specialized voice model that can listen and speak at the same time, more like a person in a real conversation. If the system gets a question outside its limited “knowledge base” (its built-in set of topics), it can hand the question off to a larger general AI model and put the caller briefly on hold, like a support agent who needs to check something.

Smallest.ai said it already works with customers including RingCentral and Truecaller. It competes with other voice AI companies such as ElevenLabs and Cartesia.

Why it matters

More companies are using AI to handle support calls, and voice is often where people notice problems first. Even a short delay can feel strange on a call, like talking on a bad connection. If Smallest.ai can make AI responses faster and more natural, it could increase the number of customer service calls handled by machines, and change what callers expect when they dial a support line.

Source: TechCrunch AI