Deepgram, a real-time API platform focused on Voice AI infrastructure, has raised $130 million in Series C funding at a valuation of $1.3 billion, underscoring growing enterprise demand for voice-first artificial intelligence. The round was led by global investment platform AVP, with participation from all major existing investors and several new strategic backers.
Returning investors in the round include Alkeon, In-Q-Tel, Madrona, Tiger, Wing, Y Combinator, and funds managed by BlackRock. New investors joining the company include Alumni Ventures and Princeville Capital, alongside strategic industry participants such as Twilio, ServiceNow Ventures, SAP, and Citi Ventures. Academic institutions including the University of Michigan and Columbia University also invested, joining existing academic backers like Stanford University.
The new capital positions Deepgram to scale its real-time Voice AI models and platform globally, with a focus on powering billions of live, natural conversations across enterprise environments. AVP was selected as lead investor due to its experience scaling category-defining technology companies and supporting international expansion, particularly across Europe and other growth markets.
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“Much like Stripe delivered the API platform underpinning the payments economy, we believe Deepgram is poised to deliver the API platform underpinning the emerging trillion-dollar B2B Voice AI economy,” said Elizabeth de Saint-Aignan, General Partner at AVP. She highlighted Deepgram’s ability to deliver low-latency, reliable, and massively scalable Voice AI infrastructure as a key differentiator.
According to Scott Stephenson, CEO and Co-Founder of Deepgram, the company is preparing for a future where billions of simultaneous conversations are powered by AI. “Enterprises and developers need real-time, reliable infrastructure capable of fully duplex, contextual conversations at scale – this is Deepgram,” Stephenson said. He added that the company remains focused on advancing voice as the most natural human interface, with a stated goal of passing the Audio Turing Test at scale in 2026.
Today, more than 1,300 organizations build Voice AI functionality using Deepgram’s APIs. The platform provides core capabilities for speech-to-text, text-to-speech, conversational speech recognition, analytics, orchestration, and autonomous voice agents. Deepgram’s technology is already embedded in global customer engagement, contact center, and automation solutions.
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Deepgram’s product portfolio includes Aura-2, an enterprise-grade text-to-speech model; Nova-3, a real-time speech-to-text model designed for accuracy and reliability; Flux, a conversational speech recognition model built to handle interruptions; the Voice Agent API; and Saga, the company’s Voice Operating System. These models can be customized for industry-specific terminology and deployed via cloud APIs, self-hosted environments, or on-premises infrastructure.
Alongside the funding announcement, Deepgram also revealed the acquisition of OfOne, an AI-native voice automation platform built for restaurants and quick-service drive-thru environments. OfOne’s technology, which has delivered more than 95% containment for national QSR brands, now forms the foundation of Deepgram for Restaurants. The combined offering aims to improve order accuracy, reduce staff strain, and enhance customer experience through real-time Voice AI.
With strong investor backing and expanding vertical focus, Deepgram is positioning itself as foundational infrastructure for the rapidly evolving Voice AI economy.
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