Vocode, Inc.
Vocode enables developers to build, deploy, and scale hyperrealistic voice agents through open source voice AI and enterprise-grade APIs for automating phone interactions and call center operations.
Founding Story
Kian Hooshmand and Ajay Raj entered Y Combinator's Winter 2023 batch without a specific idea. While interviewing people in various industries, they built PrankGPT.com on nights and weekends, which allowed users to send AI-generated prank calls. Through this project, they realized there was a lack of developer tools for conversational AI combining LLMs and voice. They launched an open-source repository called vocode-python, which received a warm reception from the developer community. The first five customers came from inbound interest through their open-source repository, leading to the founding of Vocode in 2023.
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Leadership
Founders
Kian Hooshmand
UC Berkeley Computer Science graduate (2020). Former Software Engineer at Brex and Student Researcher at UC Berkeley's RISELab. Met co-founder in 6th grade at an after-school homework session. Spent a year unemployed and traveling before founding Vocode.
Ajay Raj
UC Berkeley graduate (2016-2020) with Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Data Science. Met co-founder in 6th grade at an after-school homework session.
Executive Team
Kian Hooshmand
Founder & CEO
UC Berkeley Computer Science graduate, former Software Engineer at Brex and Student Researcher at UC Berkeley's RISELab
Ajay Raj
Co-Founder
UC Berkeley graduate with Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Data Science
Business Model
Revenue Model
Hybrid business model combining open-source flexibility with enterprise-grade hosted services. Revenue streams include: (1) Hosted service subscriptions (Developer and Enterprise plans), (2) Usage-based fees for API call automation, (3) Dedicated phone number fees, (4) Custom development and tailored solutions for enterprises, (5) Enterprise support packages and training, (6) Premium feature upsells, (7) Donations from open-source community.
Pricing Tiers
Basic call functions and open-source API access
Priority support, enhanced API, and integrations with external TTS/STT providers. Additional phone numbers: $3/month or $30/year
Full API access, advanced analytics, multilingual support, custom SLAs, and dedicated support. Includes Bring Your Own Telephony feature
Target Markets
- Software developers and engineering teams
- Startups building conversational AI applications
- Enterprise companies automating call centers
- Real estate technology companies
- Customer support operations
- SaaS companies requiring voice AI capabilities
- Building voice-based LLM agents
- Automating inbound and outbound phone calls
- AI call centers and customer support automation
- Personal assistant applications
- Phone-based customer interactions
- Automated appointment scheduling
- Ylopo
History & Milestones
Raised $3.25M in seed funding led by Gradient Ventures, Accel, and Liquid2 Ventures with participation from notable angel investors
Released v0.1.113 marking transition to open-source priority; added Claude 3, GPT-4o support, ElevenLabs Websocket, PlayHT v2, and Rime Mist support
Founded Vocode and joined Y Combinator Winter 2023 batch
Launched vocode-python open-source library and received warm community reception
Received $130K seed funding from Y Combinator
1 AI Tool by Vocode, Inc.
Vocode
9moOpen source voice AI framework for building, deploying, and scaling hyperrealistic voice agents.
