Modulate raises $25M to detect emotion and AI-generated voices in real time
shashib · x · 2026-09-29
Boston-based voice AI startup Modulate announced a $25 million round on September 28, led by Future Ventures with Hyperplane and Lakestar participating, bringing total funding to $60 million. PitchBook data cited by TechCrunch put prior funding at $41 million and the last valuation at $170 million.
- Founded in 2017 by MIT physics grads Carter Huffman and Mike Pappas, it started with voice skins for games, then built ToxMod to detect abuse in Call of Duty and Rec Room.
- Its current product, Velma, analyzes the raw call — emotion, tone, intent — and whether the voice is machine-generated, not just the transcript. Modulate reports processing 10M+ hours of audio monthly, 600M+ hours total.
- Huffman argues voice problems "can't be solved from a transcript." Use cases span call centers, hospital caller verification, anti-grooming on gaming platforms, and monitoring whether voice agents frustrate customers.
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