Denver-based Native Voice, which offers on-demand voice services, announced Monday that it raised a $14 million seed round.
Founded in 2020, Native Voice connects users with brands that have tap-to-talk functions and voice services — such as Siri, Alexa, Google and Spotify — while acting as the library for these brands. For example, with Native Voice, users can say “Hey, Spotify. Play MMMBop” without having to open the app or remember to call on Alexa or Siri. The voice command is picked up by the user’s nearby phone, ear buds, car, smart speaker or other audio device, and plays the requested song.
“Voice assistants are great, but limited in what they can do,” John Goscha, CEO and founder of Native Voice, said in a statement. “You have to wake up one assistant to open another and then take your phone out of your pocket to call a car or play a song. Native Voice unlocks multiple voice services, like Alexa and Siri, and the brands that are developing their own, like Spotify and Uber. Users can get more done using only their voice.”
Native Voice is currently working with brands in fitness, smart home technology, retail and more to create a large collection of voice services, according to a news release. The company currently works with Alexa, Siri and Spotify.
The seed round was funded by Gutbrain Ventures, Signal Peak Ventures, PBJ Capital, Technexus, Revel Partners, Ideaship and others. The fresh funding will be used to expand Native Voice’s capabilities and partner with more brands and hardware companies.
“We raised capital because the market timing is right,” Goscha told Built In via email. “Dozens of brands have launched their own voice device and there are hundreds more coming. Users are using voice in record numbers ... and audio device manufacturers are realizing they need to transform from a one-way audio delivery device to a two-way voice interface. These two fragmented groups of audio device manufacturers and branded voice service need a way to connect and we can solve that problem by being the fastest, easier way to add any voice service to any device.”
In addition to the funding round, Native Voice announced that it has brought on several executives, including former Dysonics CEO Perry Teevens as chief revenue officer and former Audible employee Matthew Klee as head of product.
