🎙️ AI for Founders: Building Voice AI with Nikhil Gupta of Vapi.ai

Guest: Nikhil Gupta, Founder & CEO of Vapi.ai

Host: Ryan Estes

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Vapi.ai helps developers build real-time, voice-first AI agents with ultra-low latency.

• Raised $20M Series A after launching profitably and going through Y Combinator.

• Voice AI is becoming the default interface for businesses replacing outdated IVR systems.

• Use cases include AI receptionists, customer support agents, and local business tools.

• Future trend: AI agents talking to other AI agents to solve real-world tasks faster.

• Current favorites: JuiceBox (recruiting), Superhuman (auto-tagging), Deep Research (creative and consumer search).

• AI fear: Reinforcement learning agents seeking power to achieve goals.

🧩 Frameworks from the Episode

What Makes a Product “AI-First”

• LLM, vision, and voice inputs built natively into UX

• Automation of subtle features like smart tags and dynamic UI changes

• “One-button” interfaces wrapping full multi-modal workflows

Building Scalable Voice AI

• Streaming audio in 20ms packets for real-time feedback

• Developer-first APIs + tooling

• Voice-specific nuance: disfluency, tone, emotional recognition

Voice AI in Practice

• IRS-style phone agents

• Restaurant reservation bots

• Personal AI memory tools like be.computer

• Agent-to-agent conversations powered by voice APIs

🔧 Tools & Resources Mentioned

• Vapi.ai – Voice AI developer platform

• JuiceBox – AI-powered recruiting

• Superhuman – AI-enhanced email experience

• Deep Research via ChatGPT

• bee.computer – Continuous voice-based memory

• Y Combinator – Startup accelerator

• Kitcaster – Podcast booking for funded founders

👥 Who This Is For

• Startup founders building AI-native apps

• Developers building vertical SaaS with voice

• Product designers exploring voice UX

• AI-curious creators and indie hackers

💬 Try Vapi.ai

➡️ Visit vapi.ai and click “Talk to Vapi” to test the voice AI agent yourself.

📫 Connect with Nikhil

• LinkedIn: Nikhil Gupta

• Website: vapi.ai