French startup Rounded has launched a new AI voice assistant platform designed to help businesses create personalized voice agents. This platform offers businesses the tools to customize their voice interactions, helping them build better connections with customers. The platform supports a variety of AI models, including speech-to-text, language, and text-to-speech models.

Rounded's journey into the AI space began with the company's initial efforts in Web3 technology. However, by June 2023, they shifted their focus to developing AI voice assistants as the demand for this technology grew. Co-founder Aymeric Vaudelin explained that while the initial idea was to combine ChatGPT with transcription and synthesis technologies, the market for voice agents wasn't yet mature. As a result, Rounded chose to focus on an AI voice agent tailored specifically for anesthesiologists.

In France, anesthesiologists often need to engage in pre-surgery consultations with patients to check for potential allergic reactions or complications. Much of this communication, which includes confirming appointment schedules and answering basic patient queries, is typically handled by secretaries. Recognizing this, Rounded's AI voice agent, called Donna, was designed to automate these routine tasks. It is now being used by 15 private hospitals, where it has handled hundreds of thousands of calls.

Through continuous improvements, Rounded has managed to reduce the response time of their AI voice agent from several seconds to less than 700 milliseconds, significantly improving the user experience.

Building on the success of their initial deployments, Rounded recently expanded its offerings by launching a customizable platform for businesses. This platform allows companies to select from a variety of AI models to create their own tailored voice assistants. Vaudelin emphasized that the goal of this platform is to empower businesses to create high-quality prompts and reliable AI agents that can meet their unique needs.

So far, the company has secured €600,000 (approximately $620,000) in funding, with contributions from the SkyDeck deep-tech accelerator at the University of California, Berkeley, and several angel investors. With the growing interest in AI and the increasing demand for customizable AI voice solutions, Rounded is poised to attract additional investment as it continues to scale.

Key Points

1. Rounded has launched an AI voice assistant platform for businesses to create customizable voice agents.
2. The company's AI agent, Donna, is currently used by hospitals to handle patient inquiries.
3. Rounded has reduced response times of its voice agent to under 700 milliseconds.
4. The startup has secured €600,000 in funding and aims for further growth.
5. The platform allows businesses to choose from various AI models to create tailored voice assistants.