Voice AI Industry Expansion

Voice is the next frontier for AI Agents, but most builders struggle to navigate this rapidly evolving ecosystem. After seeing the challenges firsthand, I've created a comprehensive guide to building voice agents in 2024. Three key developments are accelerating this revolution: -> Speech-native models - OpenAI's 60% price cut on their Realtime API last week and Google's Gemini 2.0 Realtime release mark a shift from clunky cascading architectures to fluid, natural interactions -> Reduced complexity - small teams are now building specialized voice agents reaching substantial ARR - from restaurant order-taking to sales qualification -> Mature infrastructure - new developer platforms handle the hard parts (latency, error handling, conversation management), letting builders focus on unique experiences For the first time, we have god-like AI systems that truly converse like humans. For builders, this moment is huge. Unlike web or mobile development, voice AI is still being defined—offering fertile ground for those who understand both the technical stack and real-world use cases. With voice agents that can be interrupted and can handle emotional context, we’re leaving behind the era of rule-based, rigid experiences and ushering in a future where AI feels truly conversational. This toolkit breaks down: -> Foundation layers (speech-to-text, text-to-speech) -> Voice AI middleware (speech-to-speech models, agent frameworks) -> End-to-end platforms -> Evaluation tools and best practices Plus, a detailed framework for choosing between full-stack platforms vs. custom builds based on your latency, cost, and control requirements. Post with the full list of packages and tools as well as my framework for choosing your voice agent architecture https://lnkd.in/g9ebbfX3 Also available as a NotebookLM-powered podcast episode. Go build. P.S. I plan to publish concrete guides so follow here and subscribe to my newsletter.

🗣️ Voice AI is everywhere—but which use cases are delivering ROI today, and which will tomorrow? We map adoption into four waves—full breakdown here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gbxveFjA Voice AI’s “second act” isn’t a gimmick; it’s becoming the backbone of autonomous workflows in trillion-dollar industries. Voice isn’t just the product anymore—what matters is what voice unlocks across an entire organization. 1️⃣ Wave 1 — Infrastructure Foundational models, tooling, and orchestration. Cartesia Vapi LiveKit Hamming AI David AI etc. 2️⃣ Wave 2 — Horizontal Platforms 24/7 AI call-center agents replacing legacy phone trees. Here, a high quality voice agent from Cresta, Parloa, Sierra, or Decagon is still quite central to “the product.” 3️⃣ Wave 3 — Vertical Agents (now) Domain-specific agents eating labor spend, in which voice is either a wedge or expansion exponent. 📦 Logistics: Augment, HappyRobot, FleetWorks, Vooma, and Pallet each automate different parts of the Freight Forwarder, Broker, Carrier, and Shipper stack such as load updates, scheduling, and carrier negotiations—chipping away at legacy TMS/WMS. 🛡️ Insurance: Strada & Liberate integrate with Guidewire / Applied to run sales and service 24/7. 🩺 Healthcare & Pharma: Assort Health & Hippocratic AI book visits, triages calls, and guides patients with empathy. Tandem & Squad Health address cumbersome processes like prior authorizations, financial assistance management, and pharmacy coordination. 🏭 Manufacturing & Wholesale Distribution: Endeavor & Canals AI ingest multi-channel orders, sync ERPs, and surface cross-sell insights. DOSS.COM built an ERP to unify inventory, orders, and production into one platform. 🛠️ Home Services: Netic & Avoca layer AI agents on intake, scheduling, and quoting for trades pros. 🔍 User Research: Listen Labs & Strella deliver adaptive voice interviews at survey speed, replacing weeks of moderated sessions. 4️⃣ Wave 4 — Edge-Native, Trust-First Companions (emerging) Consumer adoption has lagged, but NPUs now ship in every phone, laptop, and wearable—running billion-parameter speech models fully offline. Qualcomm’s AR1+ glasses, Snapdragon X PCs, and Google’s Gemini Nano prove it: sub-second, privacy-safe voice on the edge. Add “dialect packs” that load on demand, plus FCC & EU rules that watermark every utterance, and the stage is set for ambient AI sidekicks that feel personal and compliant. Resonant personalities are the secret ingredient for consumer, enabled by culturally nuanced voices users choose to spend time with. Voice AI isn’t just here to stay—it’s opening the floodgates for the complete transformation of countless verticals and consumer applications. If you're building in any of these areas, please reach out to Kristina Shen and I—we'd love to chat!

Hotels and other businesses are betting you can't tell the difference between a friendly human and an AI. Or, that you won't care. According to an article in the WSJ by Belle L., eHealth, an insurance marketplace, just revealed something fascinating: their customers can't distinguish between human agents and AI voice bots anymore! Beyond the technology, there's clever psychology, too: Here's what's happening in your brain: When you call a hotel or other business, your mind creates an instant mental model of who you're talking to. Voice tone, response patterns, conversational flow—your brain assembles these into a "person." But here's the surprise: Your brain doesn't care if that person is real. The "uncanny valley" we feared? It's disappearing faster than anyone predicted. Voice AI has leaped over the cognitive barrier where our brains reject artificial interaction. The business psychology is fascinating: Expectation anchoring: Once customers expect AI, satisfaction actually increases. Cognitive load reduction: AI agents never get tired, frustrated, or have bad days. They answer immediately and are never hard to understand. This eases communication and reduces cognitive load for the customer. Consistency preference: Perfect adherence to brand voice eliminates human variability and inconsistent experiences. Fertitta Entertainment (Golden Nugget, Landry's) learned something crucial: they don't let their AI stray from its predetermined knowledge. (No hallucinations!) They're leveraging our brain's preference for confident, consistent responses over creative improvisation. But here's the counterintuitive part: The companies succeeding AREN'T HIDING the AI, they're being transparent about it upfront. eHealth tells customers they're speaking with a "virtual agent" immediately. Why does this work? Cognitive consistency. When we know what we're dealing with, our brains stop looking for deception cues and start evaluating performance instead. The bigger question for leaders: In your industry, what customer interactions are you keeping human simply because "that's how it's always been done"? Or because you fear customers will react poorly? Voice AI investment jumped from $315M to $2.1B in just two years. The companies figuring out the psychology first will own the advantage. What's your experience with AI customer service? (The latest generation, not last year's useless chatbots!) Can you tell the difference anymore? #AI #CustomerExperience #BusinessPsychology #Leadership

Let’s talk about voice AI. Meta's recent PlayAI acquisition is just the beginning of a wave of voice AI consolidation driven by big tech’s uncapped appetite for the building blocks for the AI future. Meta’s play isn't just about technology or talent; it positions Meta to lead in the integration of voice AI as a dominant interface for AI interaction. As the industry continues to surpass critical thresholds in models that process audio directly, the top voice AI development startups are building platforms that enable easy integration of sub-300ms voice capabilities without complex infrastructure. The top voice AI development platform companies and leading M&A targets include: → ElevenLabs represents the crown jewel of the voice AI space. Its market-topping 955 Mosaic score and voice synthesis leadership make it the most attractive acquisition target for the big tech companies with “money to blow” on AI-cquisitions. → Cresta offers proven ROI with customers reporting 50% cost reductions in contact centers. This positions it perfectly for companies looking to leverage voice AI to immediately impact enterprise productivity. → Cartesia brings ultra-low latency capabilities under 100ms, making it ideal for any company seeking to deliver truly conversational AI experiences. Voice AI investment and consolidation reflects a future where human-AI interaction will be conversational. Companies are positioning for a future where humans interact with AI away from the browser or mobile paradigm we have existed in for the last two decades. Voice AI is becoming the "plumbing" of real-world AI interaction across both consumer and enterprise applications. As the AI arms race continues, acquisitions will continue to be focused on talent, tech, and infrastructure rather than existing revenues. Companies that secure advanced voice AI capabilities now will dominate the next phase of AI adoption – whether they integrate into their existing offerings or cash-in on selling the tooling back to others. The voice AI gold rush isn't just about near-term tech boosts; it's about defining how humans will interact with AI for the next decade. P.S. Want more insights on the companies building the future of voice AI? Have your AI talk to my AI... or, comment "voice AI" below for *free* access to CB Insights' data and insights on the voice AI markets.