Press Release

Vida Launches Carrier-Grade AI Voice Agents for Telecom

Austin, Texas – July 2, 2024 – Vida, a leading provider of carrier-grade AI voice agents for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), today announces the launch of its platform and API built for telecom service providers. The company is also announcing that it has secured a $3 million seed round led by Stillmark to accelerate the deployment of its innovative AI voice solutions.

By integrating with telecom carriers that serve large numbers of SMBs, Vida makes it easy for companies to implement AI voice agents to boost operational efficiency, drive productivity and enhance customer experience. Businesses can harness and customize Vida’s voice agents to automate and scale key business functions including customer service calls and texts, lead qualification, scheduling, sales, and more. According to the Connected Commerce Council, 81% of SMBs say AI will be critical to their businesses’ success over the next two years.

Created by telecom industry veterans, Vida operates its own proprietary voice stack that integrates seamlessly with existing telecom networks and business phone systems over SIP for smooth deployment. The Vida conversation experience is built on the most advanced AI technology, powered by a combination of leading LLMs from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and Mistral. Premium text-to-speech and powerful LLMs enable real-time conversations with low latency. Vida's AI voice agents are lifelike and can be customized based on a user’s own voice.

 “We are excited to introduce Vida AI voice agents enabling telecom network providers to give their SMB customers enterprise-level AI technology. Vida’s agents can help businesses of any size improve service quality and efficiency at the same time,” said Lyle Pratt, CEO of Vida. “Our AI agents not only integrate seamlessly with existing telecom solutions but require minimal expertise to set up, allowing SMBs easy access to technology that would have otherwise seemed beyond their reach.”

Vida is also releasing its API that enables telecom service providers to enhance their services with advanced AI voice agent technology. By connecting with platforms like Netsapiens, Broadsoft and Metaswitch, Vida simplifies deployment for SMBs, making AI capabilities more accessible and easier to implement. 

Additionally, Vida voice agents integrate with over 7,000 apps. Vida’s integration capabilities add to the deeper functionality and versatility of its AI agents that can be set up to work within a specific industry’s or company's tools and systems. By integrating with various apps/platforms including Cox Automotive, Athena Health, Salesforce and Freshdesk, Vida AI agents can perform tasks in your existing business systems just like a person.

Key Features and Capabilities:

• Carrier-Grade Technology: Vida’s proprietary platform and voice tech stack ensure smooth integration with existing telecom and PBX systems through native SIP support
• Business Inbox: Vida AI agents offer comprehensive customer interactions with the ability to handle a multitude of situations, from automatic replies to common queries to troubleshooting complex customer issues. Businesses can monitor interactions with customers in real-time and take over conversations with specific customers as needed
• Call Handoff: Businesses can forward their existing phone numbers or use a Vida-provided number without having to sign up for additional services 
• Payments: Vida’s agents facilitate cash and credit card payment processing, both sending and receiving, positioning Vida for the future of AI-native payments. Vida’s agents can also process Bitcoin-based transactions instantaneously at low cost via the Lightning Network. 
• Easy Deployment: Designed for SMBs, Vida requires no technical expertise to set up
• External Knowledge Integration: Vida can be enhanced with access to external knowledge sources from the web, delivering more comprehensive and insightful responses to customer inquiries

"We are incredibly excited to support Vida in their mission to revolutionize the AI voice agent landscape," said Alyse Killeen of Stillmark. "Vida’s innovative technology provides SMBs with enterprise-grade tools that were previously out of reach. This investment underscores our confidence in Vida’s ability to help businesses scale with lightning-enabled AI.”

Vida also is announcing its $3M Seed fundraise led by Stillmark, with participation from others including Trammell Venture Partners, Ten31, Timechain and Lightning Ventures. 

About Vida

Vida is a leading provider of enterprise-grade AI voice solutions, transforming the way telecom service providers and small to medium-sized businesses operate. Vida's AI voice agents automate key business functions such as customer service, lead qualification, scheduling and sales. Founded by telecom industry veterans, Vida’s proprietary voice stack integrates seamlessly with existing telecom networks and business phone systems over SIP. Leveraging advanced AI technology, Vida delivers lifelike, low-latency voice interactions for real-time, engaging conversations. For more info, please visit https://vida.io/. 

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Press contact: 

Illume PR for Vida 

vida@illumepr.com 

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