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Is the end of the predominantly human-staffed call center nigh? Controversial San Francisco startup Bland AI, which seeks to automate enterprise phone calls with realistic sounding AI agents that sometimes pretend to be human, today announced it has raised a $16 million Series A funding round.
The round was led by Scale Venture Partners To date, Bland says it has raised a total of $22 million from the likes of Y Combinator, Paypal founder Max Levchin, Eleven Labs CTO Piotr DÄ…bkowski, Twilio founder Jeff Lawson, and more.
Founded in 2023, Bland AI aims to overhaul the traditional, often inefficient, ways enterprises handle phone communications with its AI-powered agents that can take customer support calls and conduct sales operations and internal communications.
According to Bland AI's CEO and Co-Founder Isaiah Granet, the goal is to address the inherent limitations of human-operated phone systems.
"Our mission is to fix the way businesses handle their phone communications," Grant said in a press release. "The problem is that humans simply can't work 24/7, handle millions of phone calls simultaneously, or be trained to a company's exact liking down to its voice and behavior - but AI can, and at a fraction of the cost. We want Bland to work alongside enterprises' employees to improve efficiency across the board."
On X, the company posted a video previewing its technology and asserting it "does all of this without hallucination," referencing the common generative AI issue of models making up information without regard for factual accuracy.
Concerns about AI transparency and ethics
Despite Bland AI's promise of efficiency and cost savings, its approach has sparked concerns in the AI ethics community.
An article published by Wired magazine (where my wife works as global editorial director) dated June 28, 2024, highlighted the controversy surrounding the platform's ability to create AI agents that can convincingly mimic human interactions.
Wired's tests revealed that Bland AI bots could be programmed to lie about their true nature, even denying that they were AI when directly asked. This phenomenon, often referred to as "human-washing," raises ethical questions about transparency and the potential for misuse.
Critics argue that AI systems like Bland's could blur the lines between human and machine, leading to a range of issues, from user manipulation to privacy concerns. Jen Caltrider, director of the Mozilla Foundation's Privacy Not Included research hub, has expressed that it is "absolutely not ethical" for an AI chatbot to mislead users into thinking it is human, as this could make individuals more susceptible to manipulation.
In response to these criticisms, Bland AI has emphasized that its platform is intended for controlled enterprise environments rather than personal or emotionally-driven interactions. Michael Burke, Bland AI's Head of Growth, reassured Wired that the company actively monitors and audits its system to prevent unethical uses, stating, "We are making sure nothing unethical is happening."
How Bland AI works
The Bland AI Phone Calling Platform is designed to be both versatile and secure, allowing enterprises to create, test, and deploy their AI phone agents.
Companies can start by choosing a voice and constructing a conversational pathway -- a predefined tree of prompts that directs how the AI should respond to various customer interactions.
Once deployed, these AI agents are equipped to handle a broad spectrum of scenarios, staying on track regardless of customer responses.
Key features of the platform include:
Large enterprises already using it
Bland AI's technology has already been adopted by Better.com and Sears, which have used the platform to create custom AI agents, manage phone calls more effectively, and extract valuable insights from detailed analytics.
The platform also integrates with existing company systems to ensure that all relevant data is transferred and used efficiently.
Andy Vitus, Partner at Scale Venture Partners, expressed his enthusiasm for Bland AI's potential to transform enterprise communications. "Bland AI is reimagining how enterprises communicate. The Bland AI agents understand human emotion, speak any language, and represent a brand like a top employee. The platform is saving businesses time and money, and enabling a whole new era of intelligent, personalized interactions at scale - and we're excited to partner with the team as they build."
What's next for Bland?
With the new funding, Bland AI plans to further develop its platform, particularly its advanced analytics capabilities.
The goal is to support a wide range of industries, including healthcare, real estate, logistics, financial services, alternative data, and small businesses.
By providing detailed, actionable insights into phone communications, Bland AI enables enterprises to continuously improve their AI agents and overall performance.
For enterprises interested in exploring Bland AI's capabilities, the company offers a free version of its platform. A more advanced version is available for those seeking to fully integrate AI into their phone-based operations.
