Latest AI News
Google adds Gemini-powered dictation to Gboard, which could be bad news for dictation startups
Google announced Rambler, a new AI-powered voice dictation feature for Gboard — its widely used Android keyboard app — at its Android Show: I/O Edition 2026 event on Tuesday morning. The launch puts Google in direct competition with the likes ofWispr Flow and Typeless, a growing crop of AI-powered dictation apps that have built audiences on desktop and mobile in recent years — most of which have yet to establish a strong foothold on Android. Just like other dictation apps, Rambler removes filler words like “ums” and “ahs.” It also understands midsentence corrections like, “I am going to meet you on Wednesday at our usual coffee shop at 3 p.m. … um, 2 p.m.” Google said it is using Gemini-based multilingual models that also support code switching. Code switching means users can move between languages midsentence — say, from English to Hindi — and Rambler will follow along without losing context. It’s a capability that reflects how many multilingual speakers actually communicate, and one that most Western dictation apps have been slow to support. The company said that Gboard will clearly indicate to its users that the Rambler feature is in use. It doesn’t store any voice recordings and uses the audio only to transcribe what users speak. Google mentioned during the briefing that, as you can use the Rambler feature across all apps, it is like “reinventing the keyboard.” Loading the player… On privacy, Ben Greenwood, director of Android Core Experiences, said Google uses a combination of on-device and cloud-based processing and has “invested significantly over many years” to ensure features are “safe and private” — a calculated message to users weighing Rambler against third-party dictation apps that may handle data differently. In the past few years, a host of dictation apps — Wispr Flow, Willow, Superwhisper, Monologue, Handy, and Typeless — have cropped up. But until now, most of that activity has been on desktop and iOS, leaving Android relatively underserved. Google itself releasedAI Edge Eloquent, an offline-first dictation app powered by its on-device Gemma AI models, on iOS last month. Rambler is Google's clearest move yet to close that gap. These new features will be limited to Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones for an initial summer rollout but will eventually reach other Android devices. The core advantage here is distribution: Gboard is the default keyboard for the vast majority of Android users worldwide, meaning Rambler arrives pre-installed for hundreds of millions of people. When a platform player enters a market at the operating-system level, stand-alone apps need a compelling reason — better accuracy, deeper features, or stronger privacy guarantees — to justify a separate download. For dictation startups, the question is no longer whether they can build something good — it's whether they can build something good enough that users actively go looking for it.
View
Report: Google and SpaceX in talks to put data centers into orbit
Google and SpaceX are in talks to launch orbital data centers in space,reportsThe Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter. The potential deal comes as SpaceX gears up for its$1.75 trillion IPOlater this year, selling investors on the idea that data centers in space will be the cheapest place to put AI compute within the next few years. It also followsSpaceX’s deal with Anthropiclast week to use computing resources from xAI’s data center in Memphis, Tennessee, with the potential to work together on orbital ones in the future. (SpaceX acquired xAI in February.) Google is reportedly talking to other rocket-launch companies, as well. The company also plans to launch prototype satellites by 2027 as part of an initiative called Project Suncatcher, announced late last year. Elon Musk hascreated hypefor orbital data centers, claiming they are cheaper to operate. Advocates also point out they are free from local backlash that U.S. ground-based buildouts attract. However, asTechCrunch recently reported, today’s terrestrial data centers are much cheaper than those in orbit once satellite construction and launch costs are factored in. Google invested $900 million in SpaceX in 2015, according toregulatory filings. TechCrunch has reached out to Google and SpaceX for comment.
View
Anthropic warns investors against secondary platforms offering access to its shares
As investors scramble to get their hands on shares of AI companies of all stripes, Anthropic this weekupdated its websiteto warn investors that a slew of private and secondary investment platforms that offer access to shares in the AI company are not, in fact, allowed to do so. The company named Open Doors Partners, Unicorns Exchange, Pachamama Capital, Lionheart Ventures, Hiive (new offerings), Forge Global (new offerings), Sydecar and Upmarket as companies that are not authorized to provide access to buy or sell its shares. “Any sale or transfer of Anthropic stock, or any interest in Anthropic stock, offered by these firms is void and will not be recognized on our books and records,” the company’ssupport pagereads. Reached for comment, Forge Global claimed to have been included erroneously. “We are working with Anthropic to remove Forge’s name from this alert,” the platform told TechCrunch. “Forge does not facilitate transactions in any private company’s shares without the explicit approval of the company.” Sydecar, meanwhile, said it only acts in an administrative capacity. “The company does not buy or sell securities or solicit transactions in any private companies. Further, Sydecar requires sponsors to attest that they have reviewed relevant documents relating to the transferability of shares and that they have the required approvals and consents from the company,” the company said in an emailed statement. Anthropic’s update comes alongside a rise in the number of investment platforms offering exposure to AI companies’ shares (and thus their growth) via secondary markets where existing shareholders sell their shares, “tokenized” securities, special purpose vehicles (SPVs), or secondary market holdings. Anthropic, rumored to beraising fresh funding at a $900 billion valuation, hasespecially been in demand, with some secondary market brokers telling TechCrunch last month that it’s one of the “hardest” stocks to source. "Anthropic is right to take seriously concerns around unauthorized share sales and investment scams," Hiive spokesperson Dakota Betts said in an emailed statement. "We share those concerns. They are a major reason why Hiive invested heavily in legal, compliance, and diligence infrastructure from the beginning, and all share transfers facilitated by Hiive are approved by the issuer." Over the past year, some crypto companies, likecrypto exchange OKX, have spun up investment products selling exposure to AI companies. These often take the form of pre-IPO perpetual futures contracts, which are derivative instruments that track the value of private companies on secondary markets but don't offer ownership of actual shares. SPVs are different from those derivative systems, offering investors a chance to buy shares of an entity that holds at least some stake in Anthropic. That equity could be from an official investor, or have been acquired when an investor is forced to liquidate its holdings, as happened duringthe bankruptcy of FTX. In other cases, the equity claim may be entirely fraudulent. Anthropic says both its preferred and common stock are subject to transfer restrictions, which means any share sale or transfer not approved by its board of directors will be considered invalid. According to Anthropic, any third-party platform (specifically SPVs and retail investment firms) that claims to sell its shares directly or using forward contracts are unauthorized to do so. "We do not permit special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to acquire Anthropic stock and any transfer of shares to an SPV are void under our transfer restrictions," the company's blog reads. "Offers to invest in Anthropic’s past or future financing rounds through an SPV are prohibited." Note: This story was updated to include comments from Hiive and Sydecar.
View
Musk mulled handing OpenAI to his children, Altman testifies
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman finally took the stand this morning to defend himself against his former cofounder Elon Musk’s lawsuit challenging OpenAI’s corporate structure. Altman was asked out of the gate what he thought of Musk’s allegation that OpenAI’s other founders “stole a charity” when they launched a for-profit subsidiary to market products based on the company’s AI models. “It feels difficult to even wrap my head around that framing,” Altman said after several seconds of silence. “We created one of the largest charities in the world. This foundation is doing incredible work and will do much more.” Musk’s attorneys have been at pains to point out that OpenAI’s foundation, which now has assets on the order of $200 billion, didn’t have full-time employees until earlier this year. OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor testified today that was simply because of the challenge of converting OpenAI equity to cash, which was accomplished with the organization’s most recent restructuring in 2025. The central question posed by Musk’s lawyers is whether the company’s commitment to safety had been left behind as its commercial power grew. But Altman said that in 2017, duringa pivotal periodwhen the founders wrestled with how to obtain the funding to power their AI models, Musk’s “specific plans on safety made me worry.” He described a “particularly hair-raising moment” in the debate when Musk was asked what would happen if he died while controlling a hypothetical OpenAI for-profit. In Altman’s telling, Musk said “maybe OpenAI should pass to my children.” Altman said that Musk’s focus on controlling the initial for-profit gave him pause because OpenAI was dedicated to keeping advanced AI out of the hands of a single person, and Altman, with his experience running the prominent startup accelerator Y Combinator, knew “founders who had control usually did not give it up.” Altman also testified that Musk's management tactics, which might have worked for engineering and manufacturing, didn't work at OpenAI. "I don't think Mr. Musk understood how to run a good research lab," Altman said. "He had demotivated some of our most key researchers. He had at one point required Greg and Ilya to make a list of the researchers and list out their accomplishments and stack rank them and take a chainsaw through a bunch. That did huge damage for a long time to the culture of the organization." Indeed, Altman cast himself as defending the "sweat equity" of fellow cofounders Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever, the two people effectively running OpenAI at the time while Musk and Altman had other jobs. After that clash went unresolved, Musk ultimately left OpenAI's board and started competing AI initiatives at Tesla and his own AI startup, xAI. But Altman kept in touch with the mercurial businessman, updating him on OpenAI's work and seeking his funding and advice. OpenAI's lawyers noted that Musk had been kept up to date and asked to participate in the investments that his lawsuits now claim corrupted the non-profit. During one discussion of a Microsoft investment into OpenAI in 2018, Altman said that "unlike a lot of meetings with Mr. Musk, this was a good vibes meeting," where Musk spent a "long conversation showing us memes on his phone."
View
The Android Show I/O Edition: Google Showcases Gemini Intelligence on Android With New AI-Backed Widget Creation Tool
Google is bringing Gemini Intelligence to Android, its new suite of AI-powered tools for its operating system, the Mountain View-based tech giant announced during the Android Show I/O Edition event. The company hosted the event as part of Google I/O, which is scheduled to take place from May 19 to May 20. Slated to roll out to select Android devices soon, Gemini Intelligence will expand Google's multistep task automation feature beyond the Samsung Galaxy S26 series and Pixel 10 lineup. Moreover, the company has announced that it is also integrating Gemini into Chrome on Android, similar to the browser's desktop version.
View
Threads tests a Meta AI integration that works similarly to Grok
Threads is testing a Meta AI integration that works similarly to X’s Grok. Users with a public account will be able to mention Meta AI in a post or a reply to get more context. The feature is currenty in beta testing in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Argentina, and Singapore. Meta told TechCrunch in an email that the feature is designed to help people get real-time context about trends and breaking stories, as well as receive recommendations, all within conversations. Now, users can mention Meta AI to ask questions like, “why are people talking about the World Cup this month?, “whose Met Gala looks are trending right now?” or “how are the Knicks doing in the playoffs?” Meta AI will then process the invocation and respond as a public reply authored by the @meta.ai account. Meta AI will respond in the language used in the post it was mentioned in. By integrating Meta AI into its platform, Threads is positioning itself as not just a destination for chatting about news and trends, but also a place where you can get information and recommendations without having to leave the app. The idea is similar to Grok’s role on X, which is filled with posts of users asking the AI chatbot questions like “is this real?” or “explain this.” Of course, giving an AI chatbot this level of visibility carries risks, as seen on X whenGrok generated postspraising Hitler. Still, Meta AI notably has stronger safeguards in place than Grok, though it remains to be seen whether it will be prone to similar issues. Meta notes that if you want to see fewer Meta AI replies in your feed, you can mute @meta.ai, use the “Not interested” option on any Meta AI post, or hide a Meta AI reply that appears directly on your post. The company says it plans to learn from early feedback and will continue improving the experience before expanding it to more people.
View
Google’s ‘Create My Widget’ feature will let you vibe code your own widgets
Google on Tuesday unveiled a new “Create My Widget” feature for Android that allows users to vibe code their own custom widgets. The feature will first launch on the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer. To create a widget, users will be able to describe what they want using natural language. For example, you could ask the feature to “suggest three high-protein meal prep recipes every week” in order to get a custom dashboard that you can add and resize on your home screen. Or, if you’re a cyclist who only cares about wind speed and rain, you can create a weather widget that just surfaces those exact stats on your home screen. Gemini can also pull information from the web and connect with Google apps like Gmail and Calendar to build a single, personalized dashboard. For instance, if you’re planning a family reunion in Berlin, it can gather your flight and hotel details, surface restaurant reservations, and even add a countdown. The feature signals Google’s latest push to bring generative AI deeper into the Android experience, as tech companies race to make customization tools more accessible to everyday users. “This is like you asking your personal assistant a question, and having them just bring you the answer on repeat,” said Ben Greenwood, Director, PM, Android Core Experiences, during a briefing with reporters. “So think of it as asking Gemini things about the world, things about its knowledge of what’s going on and events, as well as things about your personal data. Those are sort of the two areas that unlock an enormous number of use cases that we’re super excited about.” The company announced the new feature alongside the unveiling of Gemini Intelligence, which will bring additional features like advanced autofill, an AI-powered voice dictation feature for Gboard, and more.
View
The AI legal services industry is heating up. Anthropic is getting in on the action.
Anthropic announced Tuesday that it is launching a host of new chatbot features designed to provide automated assistance to law firms. The new features expand Claude for Legal — the law-focused offering thatlaunched earlier this year— offering users a new set of legal plugins and MCP connectors designed for specific areas of law. The new tools come amid hot competition in the legal AI space. In March, the AI law startup Harvey, which uses agentic AI to automate legal workflows,raised $200 millionat a valuation of $11 billion. Last month, a rival startup, Legora,raised a $600 millionseries D, and launcheda high-profile ad campaignfeaturing Jude Law. Legora offers similar services to Harvey — automated solutions built to simplify the often byzantine law processes that have traditionally involved entire teams of humans. Anthropic’s new tools are designed to help law firms automate specific clerical functions — things like document search and review, case law resources, deposition prep, document drafting, and other related areas. The plugins — which represent a bundle of functions and automated tools — are designed to work across legal fields like commercial, privacy, corporate, employment, product, and AI governance, Anthropic says. Anthropic is also offering a number of model context protocol connectors. MCPs connect specific data sources and third-party systems to AI models, allowing the models to interact with them directly. In this case, the new MCP connectors integrate Claude into a variety of software applications that are already routinely used by law firms — applications for document management like DocuSign and file search platforms like Box. Legal research sites like Thomson Reuters (which operates Westlaw) can also be connected. The new connectors and plugins are being made available to all paying Claude customers, the company said. The new features also build upon other plugins designed for the legal industrythat the company launchedin February. “The legal sector is facing mounting pressure to adopt AI, and the firms and in-house teams that move are pulling ahead fast,” a spokesperson for the company said. “Claude is making a deeper push into knowledge work, with the legal sector emerging as one of its most significant and fastest-growing industries.” As AI companies have sought to court law firms, AI-related failures have caused real problems in court. Dozens of lawyershave been caughtusing AI to generate error-ridden legal documents, as has at least onemajor law firm. Last year, Californiaissued a first-of-its-kind fineagainst an attorney who had used ChatGPT to draft an appeal riddled with fake quotes. Federal judgeshave also been caughtusing it to draft rulings, a trend thatdrew the scrutinyof Congressional leaders last year. Meanwhile,AI-generated lawsuitsare said to be clogging the arteries of justice — overwhelming courts with stacks of bizarrely argued legal “slop.”
View
Google brings agentic AI and vibe-coded widgets to Android
Google announced a number of new Gemini Intelligence-branded AI features at its “Android Show: I/O Edition” event on Tuesday. These include the ability for AI to complete tasks across apps, browse the web, fill out forms, dictate speech, and even allow you to vibe-code your own Android widgets. The company had already introduced some agentic capabilities, such as ordering food or booking a ride, toGemini at the Samsung Galaxy S26 launch earlier this year. There, Google announced that Gemini would soon be able to perform more complex tasks, like booking a front-row bike for a spin class, finding a class syllabus in Gmail, and then searching for books related to that topic. Now, Google’s AI assistant will be able to handle a multistep process, like copying a grocery list from your notes app, then adding items to the cart in your shopping app. To use this feature, you’ll press the phone’s power button and describe the task. Meanwhile, the content on the phone’s screen acts as the context for the assistant. Google noted that Gemini will wait for your final confirmation to complete the checkout. Loading the player… In addition, a feature first introduced in January had allowedGemini to browse the web for you and complete tasks like booking an appointment, as part of an experimental rollout. Today, Google said this auto browse feature is making its way to Android, too. In late June, Android devices will also get Gemini in Chrome, an AI feature that will help users summarize content or ask questions about what is on the webpage, similar to how Gemini in Chrome works on the desktop. Another small but useful addition is that Gemini will be able to fill out forms on your behalf after learning details about you throughPersonal Intelligence. (Google said this feature is opt-in, and you can turn it off via settings anytime.) Plus, Gemini will come to Android's Gboard keyboard. Google is using Gemini's multimodal capabilities by introducinga feature called Rambler in Gboard, which is similar to those found in other AI-powered dictation apps. The feature will let you speak in your own tone, transcribe the speech, and format it by removing filler words. Vibe coding apps are picking up pace, and Google wants to give Android users a taste of this, too. The company is introducing a way for users tobuild Android widgets by describing them in natural language. For example, users can build a meal planning widget using query text like, "Suggest three high-protein meal prep recipes every week." The idea of creating a widget is not novel to Gemini. Notably, the hardware startup Nothing also releaseda similar tool last year. Google said that Gemini Intelligence will follow the company's Material 3 expressive design language in its features. The company said that these AI-powered features will first make their way to the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices this summer and will be available across other Android devices later this year.
View
Everything Google announced at its Android Show, from Googlebooks to vibe-coded widgets
At Google’s virtual “Android Show: I/O Edition” event on Tuesday, the tech giant announced a series of upcoming updates and features, includingimproved Gemini Intelligence features, new hardware calledGooglebooks, and other Android improvements, likevibe-coded widgets, Gemini in Chrome, and new emoji. The features are arriving ahead of Google’s annual developer conference this month, which will largely focus on AI, as it did last year. Below, we’ve compiled all of Google’s announcements for you right here. Google unveiled Googlebooks, its new line of laptops built with Gemini at their core. The tech giant is working with partners like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to make the first Googlebooks in a variety of shapes and sizes. The company says Googlebooks, which are launching this fall, are the first laptops designed from the ground up for Gemini Intelligence to offer personal and proactive help. The laptops will ship with “Magic Pointer,” a new kind of cursor with Gemini built in, compatibility with Android phones that will allow people to use apps from their phone right from their Googlebook, the ability to create custom widgets, and more. Googleunveiled a new “Create My Widget” featurethat lets users vibe-code their own custom widgets. The new feature will first launch on the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer. Users will be able to create widgets by describing what they want using natural language. For example, you could ask the feature to “suggest three high-protein meal prep recipes every week” in order to get a custom dashboard that you can add and resize on your home screen. Android Auto is getting a refresh that brings more personalization, widgets, and an edge-to-edge experience to your dash to fit any screen, whether it’s an ultrawide angle, a circle, or a unique shape. Users can add widgets that let them see the things that matter most at a glance, even while using navigation. Media apps like YouTube Music and Spotify are also getting redesigned interfaces aimed at making them easier to use in the car. Additionally, for the first time in Android Auto, you’ll be able to watch videos on apps like YouTube in 60fps full HD in supported cars later this year, starting with BMW, Ford, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Mahindra, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Škoda, Tata, and Volvo. Google said Gemini is now rolling out broadly on Android Auto, letting drivers ask questions, brainstorm ideas, or learn about topics hands-free while on the road. The company also said users will be able to place food orders from the car, beginning with DoorDash. Google announced that all 4,000 Android emojis have been refined to make them more true to how they actually are. Launching later this year, the new emojis are designed to feel less flat and more expressive and real. Android is launching a “Screen Reactions” feature that records you and your screen at the same time, a format often seen on TikTok and Instagram Reels. The feature is first rolling out on Pixel devices this summer. Google also partnered with Meta to bring the best of Instagram to its Android devices, including Ultra HDR, native stabilization, and night mode. Additionally, the company optimized the capture-to-upload pipeline to ensure your photos and videos remain sharp when you post them. The tech giant is bringing new tools to Meta’s Edit app, exclusively on Android, including “smart enhance” to upscale photos and “sound separation” to boost and remove sounds. Under Gemini Intelligence, the assistant will be able to take data from one app and perform multistep functions across apps. For instance, you can take a photo of an event flyer and ask the assistant to find that event on sites like Expedia. With this feature, users could also invoke the assistant with their grocery list on screen and ask it to build a cart based on those items in the shopping app of their choice. The company is nowintroducing Gemini in Chrome to Android,after earlier launches on iOS and desktop, allowing users to summarize content or ask questions about what they see on the webpage. Android users will also get the experimental auto-browse feature that can navigate websites and complete tasks like booking a ticket on a user’s behalf. Gemini will be able to use data from Personal Intelligence tohelp users fill out complex formson mobile through an opt-in feature. Googlelaunched a new feature in Gboard called Ramblerthat turns your speech into cleaned-up text — similar to apps like Wispr Flow and Monologue. The feature removes filler words like “ums” and “ahs” and also understands when you say “Let’s meet at 3 PM… um, 2 PM” and posts “Let’s meet at 2 PM” as a final result. Last year, Google added a way for Pixel phones to share photos and files with iPhones by making Quick Share work with AirDrop. The company said that this year, the feature will be available to users of other smartphone companies, including Samsung, Oppo,OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor. What’s more, if you don’t have a compatible device, you can use Quick Share on any device to generate a QR code, which will let you share files to the iPhone through the cloud. Plus, Google said that soon users will be able to access Quick Share available within apps like WhatsApp. Google is planning to introduce a new iOS-to-Android transfer that lets you import your passwords, photos, messages, favorite apps, contacts, eSIM, and your homescreen layout from your iPhone to your new Android phone. This feature will launch on Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices this year. A new Android featurewill allow you to pause when launching an appyou’ve labeled as one of your distractions. Before being able to scroll, game, or do whatever else it is that wastes your time, you’ll have to take a 10-second break and be confronted with other choices you could make instead — like launching your Google Play Books app to read, for instance. You can also optionally set a timer that cuts you off from using the app before you dive in. Google is also expanding its default-on theft protections to all Android users globally after earlier tests in Brazil. The features will be enabled by default on all new Android 17 devices, as well as freshly reset devices or those that have upgraded to the latest OS. When enabled, features like Remote Lock and Theft Detection Lock will be automatically enabled, and Google is reducing the number of times a thief can try to guess your PIN or password. There will also be longer wait times between failed attempts. Law enforcement will now be able to access the device’s IMEI from the lock screen on Android 12 and higher, too, allowing them to quickly verify a device’s ownership if stolen. In addition, the theft protections will be extended to devices running Android 10 and up in select markets, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and the U.K. Pixel users with up-to-date software and Advanced Protection Mode switched on now get Intrusion Logging, a security feature that helps toinvestigate suspected spyware attacks and device compromises.
View
OpenAI Enters Consulting Arena, and India's IT Stocks are Paying the Price
OpenAI's $4 billion Deployment Company has sent shockwaves through India's technology sector, plunging the Nifty IT index by 3.7%.
View
AI voice startup Vapi hits $500M valuation after winning Amazon Ring over 40 rivals
Amazon Ring, facing a surge in customer-support calls during last year’s holiday season, evaluated more than 40 AI voice vendors before choosing startupVapito handle its inbound phone traffic. Today, Ring routes 100% of its inbound calls through Vapi’s platform. That deployment helped Vapi raise a $50 million Series B led by Peak XV Partners at a valuation of around $500 million after investment, according to a person familiar with the matter. Ring turned to Vapi in mid-Q4 last year, when it was weighing whether to expand call-center capacity, rely more heavily on traditional automated phone systems, or deploy AI agents that could respond more naturally to customers, Vapi Chief Executive Jordan Dearsley (pictured above, left) told TechCrunch. Dearsley believes Ring chose Vapi because if offered Ring engineers granular control over how the AI agents behaved in live customer interactions. Jason Mitura, vice president of software development at Amazon Ring, said Ring’s customer satisfaction scores improved after deploying Vapi’s platform and that the company’s teams were able to tune the AI agent experience without depending on engineering. “A lot of AI tools promise great outcomes — Vapi has delivered on them,” he said. Founded by Dearsley and his University of Waterloo classmate Nikhil Gupta (pictured above, right), Vapi grew out of an AI therapist Dearsley built in 2023 for conversations during his daily walks. The pair, who had gone through Y Combinator with productivity startup Superpowered, found that while few people wanted the therapy product itself, startups were increasingly interested in the low-latency voice infrastructure underneath it. Thisled them to pivotto Vapi and launch the platform publicly in 2024. Vapi provides tools for companies to build, deploy, and manage voice agents across customer support, lead qualification, appointment scheduling, and outbound sales. The startup says it has now handled more than 1 billion calls through its platform, with usage accelerating as enterprises move more customer interactions onto AI systems. Vapi, Dearsley said, currently processes between 1 million and 5 million calls a day, with enterprise customers accounting for the bulk of that volume. In addition to Amazon Ring, Vapi's enterprise customers include Kavak, Instawork, New York Life, UnityAI, Cherry, and Intuit. The startup also operates a self-serve developer platform that has been used by more than 1 million developers. "Because we started from self-serve and had such a wide developer footprint, we were already battle-tested at significant scale before we signed our first major enterprise customer," Dearsley said. Other investors participating in the Series B round included Microsoft's M12, Kleiner Perkins, and Bessemer Venture Partners, bringing Vapi's total funding to $72 million. The startup is currently at an annual recurring revenue run rate in the "healthy" eight figures, an investor source told TechCrunch. Vapi is part of a growing wave of AI voice startups that includes Sierra, Decagon, PolyAI, Bland, Retell, and ElevenLabs, as companies race to build systems capable of handling customer conversations with minimal human involvement. Dearsley said Vapi differentiates itself by focusing less on pre-packaged applications and more on the infrastructure and orchestration layer behind voice agents, particularly for enterprises that want greater control over reliability, compliance, and model behavior. The startup currently has around 100 employees and plans to use the new funding to expand its engineering, infrastructure, and go-to-market teams. "The golden problem is taking this indeterminate beast that is a model and taming it," Dearsley said. "If you can do that, then you can provide value to the world."
View