Rime Raises $24 Million in Series A Funding
Rime, a San Francisco-based startup specializing in AI voice models for real-time conversations, has successfully raised $24 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by M13 Ventures, with participation from Twilio Ventures, Corazon Capital, and Unusual Ventures.
What Rime Does
Founded in 2022 by Brooke Larson and Lily Clifford, Rime focuses on creating advanced AI voice models that support over 600 voices in 50+ languages, with latency under 100 milliseconds. These models are designed to handle enterprise-level customer interactions in sectors like sales, marketing, and customer support. The company aims to reduce the customization load for its clients by training its models on conversational data collected in-house.
Funding Round Details
The Series A round, closed on July 15, 2026, was led by M13 Ventures. This investment will bolster Rime's efforts to refine its phoneme-based architecture, which adapts to different pronunciations, ensuring that enterprises can seamlessly integrate the technology without the need for frequent retraining.
Strategic Use of Funds
The newly acquired funds are expected to be used primarily for enhancing Rime’s voice AI models and expanding their market reach. By focusing on tuning voice models to accurately pronounce brand-specific and industry-specific terms, Rime aims to provide a more compelling interaction experience than traditional IVR systems.
Comments from Founders
Lily Clifford, who co-founded the company with Brooke Larson, commented on the challenges still facing AI voice technology: "The voice technology is still not there to automate the vast majority of enterprise phone calls. LLMs have made it a lot easier to build voice applications that work, but they haven’t changed how it feels to interact."
The Road Ahead
As Rime continues to grow, it aims to carve out a significant niche in the enterprise voice AI market, providing solutions that allow large organizations to offload customer calls efficiently. With this latest funding, Rime is well-positioned to enhance its technology and expand its footprint in the industry.
Rime's innovative approach to voice AI, combined with strategic investment backing, sets the stage for further advancements in how enterprises handle customer interactions.