Singapore voice AI startup AI Rudder bags $10m in Series A funding

AI Rudder, a voice AI startup based in Singapore, secured $10 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Sequoia Capital India and Sequoia China Seed Fund, according to its latest announcement.

The funding round was also backed by existing investors Zhen Fund, IMO Ventures, Zizhu Xiaomiao Fund, and Huashan Capital. The funds raised will be used to fuel overseas expansion and enhance product capabilities for the Singapore-based voice AI startup.

AI Rudder, founded in July 2019, uses voice AI technology to help businesses solve B2C communication challenges across a range of different industries, such as banking and finance, fintech, and ecommerce.

Its notable clients include fast-growing companies like Kredivo, Adira Finance and FinVolution.

“Consumers want faster, frictionless experiences while interacting with brands and their services, and AI Rudder’s technology makes this possible at scale. With the new funding, we will be able to support more languages and expand our capabilities, enabling our mission to boost customer experiences across industries,” said Kun Wu, Co-Founder and Managing Director, AI Rudder.

The company’s previous funding includes a $1 million seed round in January 2020 and $2 million extension of the seed round in June 2020. Since then, the business has grown its revenue fourfold and acquired 5 times more customers. The team size has also increased from 30 to 100 in the same period.

Aside from global expansion, the company said it will also be focusing on hiring new talent across various functions, including GTM (Go To Market), sales and marketing, and solutions consulting. These roles will be based at the company’s headquarters in Singapore and will be responsible for overseeing global and regional operations.

Rohit Agarwal, Principal at Sequoia India, said business to consumer voice communication is a $300-billion market, buoyed by companies’ efforts to digitise every aspect of their business at an accelerated pace.

“We are excited about the applications AI Rudder is building to help companies make human-like calls at lightning speed and automate collection and analysis of data to reach and activate more customers“, Agarwal added.