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§ Private Profile · Somerville, MA, USA
Modulate is a technology company.
Modulate delivers Velma, an Ensemble Listening Model (ELM), providing voice intelligence to directly comprehend human conversations. This voice-native AI moves beyond transcription, interpreting nuance, emotion, and intent from speech. Its capabilities include accurate speech-to-text, deepfake detection, and sentiment analysis, empowering platforms to proactively mitigate harmful online behaviors.
Co-founded by Mike Pappas and Carter Huffman, who met at MIT, Modulate originated from their shared interest in technology’s impact on human interaction. Huffman, while at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, prototyped the core voice AI that evolved into the company. Established in 2017, Modulate built its premise on the belief that AI should genuinely understand people.
Modulate’s solutions serve diverse sectors like online gaming, social platforms, and customer experience centers. The technology addresses key applications such as enhancing user safety, preventing commercial fraud, and establishing guardrails for AI agents. The company envisions a future where digital voice interactions are safer, fostering valuable, empathetic conversations.
Modulate has raised $36.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Modulate has raised $36.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Modulate is a Boston-based technology company that develops AI-powered voice intelligence platforms to ensure safe, respectful online interactions and prevent fraud in voice communications.[1][2][4][5] It builds products like ToxMod for real-time detection of toxic behavior, harassment, synthetic voices, and deception, serving gaming platforms, gig economy services, customer support, and social communities.[4][5] The platform solves problems of online toxicity, privacy breaches, and regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, COPPA, EU AI Act) by analyzing live or recorded audio for sentiment, emotion, intent, and behavior, delivering alerts and insights with high accuracy from training on hundreds of millions of audio hours.[2][4][5] Modulate has raised $30M in funding, remains privately held with under 25 employees, and shows growth through expansions into fraud prevention and customer experience tools.[1][2]
Modulate emerged from a focus on gaming communities plagued by toxic voice chat, launching with ToxMod as the foundational tool for real-time moderation.[4] Led by CEO Mike Pappas, CTO Carter Huffman, and COO Terry Chen, the team comprises audio experts, machine learning researchers, and thought leaders who pivoted from initial innovations like VoiceWear—emotive, character-accurate voice skins—to broader prosocial voice intelligence.[1][2][4] Early traction came from gaming platforms, enabling rapid adaptation (e.g., a fraud-detection module built in one month for a gig platform in early 2024), which fueled $30M in total funding across one round and positioned Modulate as a leader in voice safety.[1][4]
(Note: A separate entity, Modulate Technologies, founded in 2022, focuses on AI-designed scoliosis braces, but context confirms this profile targets the voice AI company at modulate.ai.[3])
Modulate rides the surge in voice-first interactions—from gaming and social audio to AI agents, calls, and metaverses—amid rising online toxicity, deepfake fraud, and strict regulations like the EU AI Act.[4][5] Timing aligns with voice tech proliferation (e.g., gig platforms, customer service automation) where text moderation falls short, as audio conveys nuanced intent and emotion that AI can now decode at scale.[5] Market forces favoring Modulate include escalating cyber threats (phishing, synthetic voices), demand for trust/safety in decentralized communities, and compliance pressures, positioning it to influence ecosystem standards for proactive, privacy-focused voice governance.[2][4][5]
Modulate is primed to dominate voice intelligence as platforms prioritize real-time safety amid AI-driven audio threats and regulatory scrutiny.[5] Next steps likely include deeper AI agent integrations, expanded fraud modules, and gamified tools for broader adoption, fueled by its $30M war chest and proven scalability.[1][4] Trends like voice commerce growth, deepfake proliferation, and global privacy laws will amplify its role, potentially evolving Modulate into a standard for human-AI voice trust—transforming raw audio from risk to resilient asset, much like its gaming origins redefined online speech.[4][5]
Modulate has raised $36.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Modulate's investors include Lakestar, Everblue Management, Hyperplane Venture Capital, 2Enable Partners, Speedy Packets Inc., Rob May, Michael Dornbrook, Sierra Ventures, Third Kind Venture Capital, John Huysmans.
Modulate has raised $36.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $30.0M Series A in August 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2022 | $30M Series A | Lakestar | Everblue Management, Hyperplane Venture Capital | Announced |
| Feb 1, 2020 | $4M Seed | 2enable Partners | Lakestar, Speedy Packets Inc., ROB MAY, Michael Dornbrook, Everblue Management, Hyperplane Venture Capital, Sierra Ventures, Third Kind Venture Capital | Announced |
| Feb 1, 2019 | $2M Seed | John Huysmans, Hyperplane Venture Capital | — | Announced |