In the competitive world of startups, securing a seed round as substantial as $70 million is no small accomplishment. When a company like Gradium, a voice AI startup emerging from Paris, achieves that and draws backing from prominent figures such as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, it’s clear something extraordinary is taking shape. As someone who has built startups across industries, I see this as a crucial story for founders aiming to scale quickly in the AI sector or looking to understand what investors value in cutting-edge technologies.
What makes Gradium stand out?
Gradium isn’t just another voice AI startup. It’s a product of Kyutai, an open-source nonprofit research lab that has consistently pushed the boundaries of conversational AI. The lab was financed by Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel, and Rodolphe Saadé back in 2023, with an enormous €300 million investment. Now, Gradium represents the first commercial spin-out of Kyutai’s innovations, and it’s already gaining traction. The company’s edge lies in its ability to deliver premium-quality AI-powered voice interactions at relatively lower operational costs.
The founders are deeply entrenched in AI expertise:
- Neil Zeghidour, with his background at DeepMind and Meta, brings in-depth technical knowledge.
- Laurent Mazaré, Alexandre Défossez, and Olivier Teboul all have strong engineering and research cred.
This combination of talent and a pipeline of groundbreaking research drives curiosity. But let’s not just dwell on accolades; these kinds of breakthroughs underscore where voice AI itself is headed.
A $70 Million Seed Round: How was this done?
Typically, seed rounds range much lower than $70 million. The scale of Gradium’s funding captures two key things:
- The rapid adoption of conversational AI technologies within industries such as healthcare, gaming, and translation.
- Investor confidence in Gradium’s ability to carve a niche against dominant players like ElevenLabs.
Investors in the round include major players like FirstMark, Eurazeo, and DST Global. It’s clear these firms aren’t only buying into Gradium’s tech, but also the possibility of substantial scalability across global markets.
How is this market growing so fast?
Voice AI startups in Europe raised around €600 million this year, a sharp increase from the €327 million in 2024. This growth coincides with the broader shift toward voice as a primary user interface, enabling efficiencies in everything from customer service to bespoke character voices in video games. While many solutions today feel clunky or difficult to scale, Gradium’s offering promises to bring enterprise-grade solutions without excessive costs or delays.
Some of the fastest-growing commercial needs Gradium is serving include:
- Gaming: Free-flowing character voices bring narratives to digital life.
- Healthcare: Secure medical dictation to ease workloads for professionals.
- Real-time translation: A multilingual world thrives on voice clarity.
- Assistive technology: Configurable tools, useful in education or disability assistance.
Startups that find a meaningful way to address these issues often generate both impact and revenue quickly. Gradium seems poised to do just that.
Steps for Founders to Learn from Gradium’s Journey
Here’s a clearer roadmap for startups looking to mirror Gradium’s success:
- Leverage Nonprofit R&D Labs: Gradium locked in a strong foundation by spinning out research that had been rigorously tested. If your business can collaborate with universities or labs, you’ll have a similar advantage.
- Engage Respected Investors Early: Having Eric Schmidt involved isn’t just about the money, it lends credibility. Think about whether certain profiles in your industry could catalyze your startup’s growth.
- Showcase Practical Applications: Gradium bridges innovation with real-world uses ranging from interactive gaming to medical transcription. You need to demonstrate how customers will immediately benefit from your tech, even if it’s complex.
- Start with Niche but Scalable Markets: Instead of diluting focus, Gradium began by establishing credibility with select industries.
Common Missteps to Avoid in High-Tech AI Funding
It’s tempting to see a $70 million seed and assume Gradium’s journey was smooth. It wasn’t. AI startups can run into traps, including these:
- Over-promising too early: If your tech isn’t matured or scalable, investors may hesitate to commit large sums. Test heavily before approaching high-level funding.
- Ignoring simplification: Complex AI sounds impressive, but customers want user-friendly solutions. Gradium’s target seems to balance advanced design with practical execution.
- Failing to address ethical concerns: Voice technology, especially in AI, frequently faces scrutiny over fairness, bias, and misuse. Addressing these questions early earns trust.
The Best Takeaways for Entrepreneurs Reading This
AI startups in Europe, and globally, will undoubtedly see newer players emerge swiftly, like Gradium, because of the increasing focus on natural interactions between humans and digital systems. Whether you aim for $70 million rounds or smaller ones, understanding customer pain points and building trust with investors is still instrumental.
For a real-life example of combining expertise with storytelling, I recommend reviewing Gradium’s case further through Sifted’s Gradium profile. As entrepreneurs, learning how Gradium articulated its vision, team, and market focus could inspire your future pitches.
Final Thought
As an entrepreneur, I always advocate for deeper collaboration between public research, private experimentation, and startup execution. Gradium exemplifies just how productive such collaborations can be. If you’re working in AI, consider this your opportunity to assess where your team fits in the broader push toward smarter, more human-like machines. Follow the money, but more importantly, follow the impact.
FAQ
1. What is Gradium, and what makes it unique?
Gradium is a voice AI startup spun out of Kyutai, a Paris-based nonprofit AI research lab. It delivers high-quality AI-powered voice interactions at lower operational costs and stands out for its strong technical foundation rooted in open-source R&D. Learn more about Gradium
2. Who are the key founders of Gradium?
The startup is led by founders Neil Zeghidour (ex-DeepMind and Meta), Laurent Mazaré, Alexandre Défossez, and Olivier Teboul, all of whom bring strong AI research and engineering expertise. Discover the team behind Gradium
3. How much funding has Gradium raised in its seed round?
Gradium has raised an unprecedented $70 million seed funding round, reflecting significant investor confidence in their technology and scalability. Check out Gradium’s funding details
4. Who are some of the prominent backers in Gradium's funding round?
The round featured investors like Firstmark, Eurazeo, DST Global, Korelya Capital, Amplify Partners, Xavier Niel, Rodolphe Saadé, and Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google. Learn more about Gradium’s investors
5. How does Gradium differentiate itself in the Voice AI market?
Gradium leverages "audio language models" for applications such as gaming, healthcare, and real-time translation while offering scalability at competitive costs. Explore Gradium’s competitive edge
6. What industries is Gradium targeting with its technology?
Gradium is focused on industries such as gaming, healthcare, real-time multilingual translation, and assistive technologies. Discover Gradium’s market applications
7. How does Kyutai contribute to Gradium’s success?
As a non-profit lab, Kyutai conducts open-source AI research and forms the backbone of Gradium’s commercial technology, creating a synergy between R&D and market-focused solutions. Learn about Kyutai’s role
8. Why is the Voice AI market growing so rapidly?
The market’s growth is driven by increased demand for seamless voice interfaces in customer service, gaming, and translation, with startups raising €600 million in Europe alone in 2025. Check out Voice AI market growth
9. How is Gradium competing with major players like ElevenLabs?
Gradium offers premium-quality voice solutions with greater affordability and scalability compared to competitors like ElevenLabs, which dominate the European market. Read about Gradium’s competition
10. What can AI entrepreneurs learn from Gradium’s journey?
Key strategies include leveraging nonprofit R&D, engaging respected investors early, showcasing practical applications, and starting with scalable niche markets. Explore entrepreneurial insights from Gradium
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.