Gradium, an innovative AI voice technology startup emerging from the French lab Kyutai, has officially launched following a substantial seed funding round of $70 million, announced on Tuesday. The funding was spearheaded by prominent investors FirstMark Capital and Eurazeo, with notable contributions from French telecom magnate Xavier Niel, DST Global Partners, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, among others.
Founded in September 2025 by Neil Zeghidour, a key figure in Kyutai with extensive experience in voice model research at Google DeepMind, Gradium is focused on developing advanced audio language AI models that deliver instantaneous voice responses with ultra-low latency. The startup aims to enhance the speed and accuracy of voice models for developers, making their integration more seamless.
One of Gradium’s standout features is its multilingual support at launch, catering to languages such as English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese, with plans to expand further.
However, Gradium enters a rapidly evolving market already saturated with competitors, including established companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Mistral, which have developed their own voice and speech recognition technologies. Additionally, emerging startups like ElevenLabs and a multitude of voice models available on platforms like Hugging Face present further challenges.
Despite the competitive landscape, Gradium’s goal to provide ultra-realistic voice expression and precision is increasingly relevant as the demand for AI technology transitions from text-based interactions to more sophisticated AI agents, impacting diverse sectors from entertainment to professional environments.
Key Points:
– Gradium secured $70 million in seed funding from a range of notable investors.
– The startup focuses on low-latency, high-quality AI voice technology.
– Multilingual support was included from the outset.
– Faces stiff competition from established and emerging companies in the AI voice space.
– Aims to meet growing demand for realistic AI voice applications in various industries.
