Former Y Combinator startup telli is assisting companies in easing the congestion that arises when a large number of customers attempt, for instance, to book appointments. Its AI voice agents take over basic operations, shifting more complex tasks to human operators. The Berlin-based startup recently secured $3.6 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Berlin’s Cherry Ventures and Y Combinator.
According to telli, its AI voice agents are capable of executing various tasks, such as automated callbacks and even closing deals.
Founded by Seb Hapte-Selassie, Philipp Baumanns, and Finn zur Mühlen, the startup has focused on seamlessly integrating its agents into company operations.
The company claims to have achieved a revenue growth exceeding 50% month over month and has managed nearly a million phone calls, all handled by a team of six in the Berlin office. Customers are located across Germany, the U.K., Latin America, and the U.S., with plans for further expansion.
CEO Finn zur Mühlen shared with TechCrunch that the inspiration for the company emerged from their experience at German unicorn, Enpal, one of Germany’s major startup successes. He explained, “We scaled the customer service people and witnessed firsthand the challenges of call automation for customer acquisition and performance management.”
According to zur Mühlen, telli’s AI agents are effective in achieving outcomes such as booking appointments, prequalifying leads, and making product suggestions. The voices used are created by hired voice actors, whose voices are subsequently cloned using platforms like 11 Labs or Cartesian AI.
Telli employs varying underlying AI models, including those from OpenAI and Claude, among others. The CEO noted, “We switch around. Our goal is always to provide our customers with the best solutions available at present.”
