Paris-based AI voice startup Gradium nabs $70M seed

Gradium, an innovative startup originating from the French AI lab Kyutai, has officially unveiled itself with a remarkable $70 million seed funding round. This financial boost comes from a distinguished group of investors, including FirstMark Capital, Eurazeo, and notable figures such as Xavier Niel, DST Global Partners, and Eric Schmidt. Founded just a few months ago by Neil Zeghidour, a key member of Kyutai and former researcher at Google DeepMind, Gradium aims to enhance audio language AI models. The startup focuses on delivering voice capabilities at scale with impressive ultra-low latency, which means that their AI-generated voices can respond almost instantaneously. Aiming to provide developers with faster and more precise voice models, Gradium has launched with multilingual support right from the start, including languages such as English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese, with plans to expand further. However, Gradium enters a competitive landscape filled with established players. Major AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Mistral already offer voice and speech recognition technologies. Additionally, emerging startups like ElevenLabs and numerous models available on platforms like Hugging Face provide developers with a wide array of options for AI voice functionalities. Despite the crowded market, Gradium believes that the demand for its unique features—such as ultra-realistic voice expression and accuracy—will continue to grow as AI transitions from text-based interactions to more sophisticated applications in both entertainment and professional settings.