Deepgram Hits $1.3 Billion Valuation Following $130 Million Raise to Power Voice AI Economy

Deepgram announced today it has raised $130 million in Series C funding, reaching a $1.3 billion valuation and achieving unicorn status. The round was led by AVP, an independent global investment platform, with participation from strategic heavyweights like Twilio, SAP, and ServiceNow Ventures. This massive capital injection will fuel the company’s real-time API platform as it seeks to underpin the trillion-dollar B2B voice AI economy. Beyond the funding, the company is expanding its reach through the strategic acquisition of OfOne, a specialist in restaurant voice automation. This move enables the launch of Deepgram for Restaurants, focusing on the high-stakes environment of quick-service drive-thrus. By integrating AI-native ordering that boasts a 95 percent containment rate, the company is moving from a general infrastructure provider to a vertical solution leader. Technical innovation remains at the forefront with the rollout of "Flux," a conversational speech model designed to solve the persistent problem of user interruptions. In the past, AI agents often struggled when a human spoke over them, but Flux allows for seamless, full-duplex conversations. This model joins a suite of updates including Nova-3 and Aura-2, which provide the accuracy and low latency required for natural voice experiences.

The diverse investor group, featuring institutions like BlackRock and several major universities, underscores the critical nature of voice technology in enterprise workflows. By partnering with strategic backers, Deepgram is ensuring its APIs are embedded within the core communication and data layers of global business. A new Voice AI Collaboration Hub in San Francisco will serve as the physical ground for this growing ecosystem.

Looking toward 2026, the company aims to pass the Audio Turing Test at scale, effectively making AI voices indistinguishable from human ones. This roadmap is supported by an expanding patent portfolio focused on hardware efficiency and transformer-based speech recognition. With plans for significant expansion into European markets, the platform is positioning itself as the global standard for voice-first interactions.