AI voice startup Gradium raises $100M seed, backed by Nvidia
Paris-based AI voice company Gradium has announced it raised $100 million in a seed funding round. The round includes new investor Nvidia and funds will be used for US expansion.
Paris-based AI voice startup Gradium announced today that it has raised a total of $100 million in its seed funding round, with Nvidia joining as a new investor. The company plans to use the capital to establish an office in the Bay Area, aiming to strengthen its position within the global AI ecosystem.
Gradium originally emerged from stealth in December, having secured $70 million from investors including FirstMark Capital, Eurazeo, and Eric Schmidt. The startup is a spin-off from the French AI lab Kyutai, co-founded by Xavier Niel. Neil Zeghidour, who has prior experience at Google Brain, DeepMind, and Facebook, co-founded both Kyutai and Gradium.
The company is developing audio models designed to deliver AI-generated voice with ultra-low latency, enabling near-instantaneous responses in AI interactions. Gradium faces competition from other voice AI startups such as ElevenLabs, valued at $11 billion earlier this year, and major AI providers like Google with its Gemini models.
Since its launch in December, Gradium reports having secured significant customers, including French automotive manufacturer Renault, indicating early traction in the competitive AI voice market.