TL;DR
Deepgram closed a $130 million Series C at a $1.3 billion valuation led by AVP, with participation from a mix of existing and new investors. The company also bought YC-backed Ofone to push into restaurant voice ordering as it expands languages and its global footprint.
What happened
Deepgram announced a $130 million Series C financing that values the company at $1.3 billion. The round was led by AVP and included follow-on capital from existing backers such as Alkeon, In-Q-Tel, Madrona, Tiger, Wing, and Y Combinator, as well as new investors including Alumni Ventures, Columbia University, Princeville Capital, Twilio, and SAP. With this round the company has raised more than $215 million to date. Separately, Deepgram acquired Y Combinator–backed Ofone, a startup that built a voice AI ordering system for quick-service restaurants and reports over 93% accuracy on order capture. Deepgram said it plans to use the capital to accelerate growth, expand its international reach, support more languages, and focus on restaurant use cases. The company supplies speech-to-text and text-to-speech models, low-latency conversational recognition tools, and APIs used by over 1,300 organizations including meeting notetaker Granola, voice agent Vapi, and Twilio.
Why it matters
- The financing and acquisition underline investor appetite for voice AI amid rising enterprise and consumer use cases.
- Adding a restaurant-focused voice solution could open one of the largest consumer-facing deployments for voice interfaces.
- Deepgram’s cash-positive position suggests the raise is strategic growth capital rather than emergency funding.
- Broader language support and a larger global footprint would make Deepgram more competitive for multinational customers and partners.
Key facts
- Series C raise: $130 million at a $1.3 billion valuation, led by AVP.
- Total funding to date: more than $215 million.
- New investors in the round include Alumni Ventures, Columbia University, Princeville Capital, Twilio, and SAP.
- Existing investors who participated: Alkeon, In-Q-Tel, Madrona, Tiger, Wing, and Y Combinator.
- Acquisition: Ofone, a YC-backed voice AI startup focused on quick-service restaurants.
- Ofone claims greater than 93% accuracy in taking orders.
- Deepgram reports more than 1,300 organizations use its voice AI products, including Granola, Vapi, and Twilio.
- Product focus: speech-to-text and text-to-speech models, low-latency conversational recognition, interruption handling, and APIs.
- Company status: reported cashflow positive in the prior year; CEO said the raise was to accelerate investment and growth.
What to watch next
- How Deepgram will integrate Ofone’s technology and whether it will roll out large-scale restaurant pilots — not confirmed in the source.
- Timelines for expanded language support and specific international market entries — not confirmed in the source.
- Whether Deepgram pursues additional acquisitions or partnerships to accelerate vertical expansion, especially in hospitality and retail — not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- Series C: A later-stage financing round in which a company raises capital to scale operations, expand market reach, or prepare for public markets or acquisition.
- Valuation: An estimate of a company's total worth, often used to price investment rounds and express ownership stakes.
- Speech-to-text: Technology that converts spoken language into written text using machine learning models.
- Text-to-speech: Technology that generates spoken audio from written text, often used to create synthetic voices.
- Low latency: A characteristic of systems that respond quickly with minimal delay, important for real-time applications like conversational voice agents.
Reader FAQ
How much did Deepgram raise and at what valuation?
Deepgram raised $130 million in a Series C at a $1.3 billion valuation.
Who led the funding round and which investors participated?
AVP led the round. Existing investors such as Alkeon, In-Q-Tel, Madrona, Tiger, Wing, and Y Combinator participated, and new backers included Alumni Ventures, Columbia University, Princeville Capital, Twilio, and SAP.
What company did Deepgram acquire?
Deepgram acquired Ofone, a Y Combinator–backed startup that built a voice AI ordering solution for quick-service restaurants.
Is Deepgram profitable?
The company said it was cashflow positive last year.
Will Deepgram launch a national restaurant voice-ordering service?
not confirmed in the source
Usage of voice AI in sales, marketing, customer support, and consumer applications has shot up in the last few years. As a result, model providers have seen increased business, along…
Sources
- Deepgram raises $130M at $1.3B valuation and buys a YC AI startup
- Deepgram Raises $130M Series C at $1.3B Valuation to …
- Artificial intelligence
- TechCrunch | Startup and Technology News
Related posts
- Insta360 updates Link 2 webcams with larger sensors and higher prices
- Superorganism closes $25.9M first fund to invest in biodiversity startups
- Show HN: iOS budget app evolves into Primoco — MoneyControl’s web budget book