Boston-based voice intelligence startup Modulate has raised $25 million in new funding led by Future Ventures, with participation from Hyperplane and Lakestar. PitchBook data shows the company had previously raised $41 million at a $170 million valuation.
Founded in 2017 by Mike Pappas and Carter Huffman, who met as MIT physics undergraduates, Modulate began by offering voice modulation for gaming before moving into voice-based moderation. With the rise of voice AI models, it now focuses on detecting AI-generated audio and analyzing the intent behind spoken words.
The platform runs more than 100 small models in two groups. Signal extraction models assess emotion, tone, language and synthetic voices, while analysis models identify intent, rule violations and possible scams. Huffman said this approach avoids specialized hardware and heavy compute, and makes it easier to train new models that an orchestrator calls when needed.
Modulate specializes in deepfake detection for organizations such as call centers, and it also monitors AI agents for call quality and regulatory compliance. Huffman said companies often misread emotion analysis, because customers can stay polite to AI agents while being deeply dissatisfied.
The company employs 40 to 45 people and plans to hire 10 more to strengthen model building. It is also expanding on-premises and on-device deployment for greater privacy.
Featured image: Credit: Modulate
