Paris-based AI voice startup Gradium raises $100M seed, backed by Nvidia
Paris-based AI voice startup Gradium raises $100M seed, backed by Nvidia
In Brief
Posted:
Gradium, a Paris-based startup that offers voice AI models, re-opened its seed round to new investors, including Nvidia, and has now raised $100 million total for the round, it said Thursday.
The company is using the cash to open an office in the Bay Area and compete for talent there, “strengthening its position at the heart of the world’s leading AI ecosystem,” as Gradium put it. Paris is a major European hub for AI, so this is an interesting acknowledgement of the benefits for AI startups in being close to Anthropic, Google, Meta, and OpenAI.
Gradium originally launched out of stealth in December with $70 million from a roster of impressive investors, including FirstMark Capital, Eurazeo, DST Global Partners, Eric Schmidt, and French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel.
The startup was spun out of French AI lab Kyutai (a lab backed by Niel). Both Kyutai and Gradium were co-founded by Neil Zeghidour, a researcher who previously worked at Google Brain, DeepMind, and Facebook.
Gradium is working on audio models that deliver voice at scale with ultra-low latency, meaning AI voices that respond almost instantly, without that awkward pause that often creeps into AI agent conversations.
The company has plenty of competition, though, from other voice AI startups like ElevenLabs, valued at $11 billion in February, to major model makers known for voice like Google’s Gemini. But Gradium seems to be winning ground anyway. Since its December launch, Gradium says it has landed some big customers, including French auto manufacturer Renault.
Newsletters
Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news
Related
Latest in Venture
Patrocinados
Patrocinados
Patrocinados
Patrocinados
Publicaciones
Categorías
Read More
Google Is About to Punish Websites for That Annoying Browser Back Button TrickHave you ever been trapped by a web page, unable to use the back button to get back to the site you were previously browsing, powerless to do anything but sigh and sacrifice the whole browser tab? Turns out that you may have been the victim of "back-button hijacking," a practice that Google is cracking down on...
Israel will begin contentious West Bank land registration Palestinians walk along the separation barrier between the West Bank and east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, Sunday Feb. 15, 2026. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP...
Anthropic says Claude may want to see your ID Anthropic may ask Claude users to verify their age and identity by uploading their government-issued documents, according to a new version of the company’s privacy policy. The AI giant says the move was to allow users to appeal having their account flagged for potentially fraudulent activity rather than outright banning them, but comes at a...
The fitness industry is changing as companies come together to become stronger. Recently, ClassPass and Mindbody, two popular names in fitness, announced a merger worth $7.5 billion. This partnership is part of a larger trend where businesses in the fitness world are joining forces to compete more effectively. Other recent examples include MyFitnessPal's acquisition of Cal AI, an app that helps...
Trump expected to talk Iran and trade during summit in China Trump expected to talk Iran and trade during summit in China Audio will be available later today. President Trump arrives in China Wednesday for a summit with his Chinese counterpart, where the war in Iran, trade policies and Taiwan are expected to be major points of...
