Exclusive: Beside, an AI voice startup, raises $32 million to build an AI receptionist for small businesses – Fortune

AI Voice Technology Firm “Beside” Secures $32 Million to Advance Sustainable Economic Growth for Small Enterprises

The AI voice technology startup, Beside, has concluded a funding round securing $32 million. The capital is designated for the expansion of its AI receptionist service, which is engineered to support small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. This initiative aligns directly with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by fostering economic growth, promoting innovation, and reducing inequalities.

Operational Overview and Financial Status

Funding and Revenue

• Total Recent Funding: $32 million
• Series A Round: $20 million, led by EQT Ventures with participation from Index Ventures and notable angel investors.
• Seed Round: $10.5 million, led by Index Ventures.
• Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): $4 million, achieved during an 18-month stealth period.
• Customer Base: Over 20,000 paying customers.

Product and Market Strategy

Beside offers an AI-powered receptionist service that integrates with a user’s existing phone number. The service is designed to manage calls, book appointments, and handle customer follow-ups, effectively serving as a “Chief of Staff” for users who cannot afford full-time administrative support. The company’s primary strategy is a direct-to-consumer approach, targeting a market of approximately 100 million American professionals and small business owners.

Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Beside’s technology directly contributes to promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth by empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

1. Enhanced Productivity: The AI receptionist automates administrative tasks, allowing entrepreneurs and professionals such as contractors, lawyers, and salon owners to focus on their core business activities, thereby increasing productivity and efficiency.
2. Revenue Generation: By addressing the critical issue of missed calls—where most small businesses answer fewer than 40% of incoming calls—the service helps capture previously lost business opportunities. User testimonials indicate significant revenue increases, such as an insurance agent tripling new written premiums.
3. Job Quality: The service reduces the administrative burden on small business owners, mitigating stress and improving the quality of their work life, which is a key component of “decent work.”

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The company fosters innovation and contributes to building resilient technological infrastructure.

• Technological Innovation: Instead of layering AI onto existing systems, Beside has rebuilt its telephony infrastructure from the ground up to ensure high-quality service delivery. This foundational innovation supports a more robust communications ecosystem.
• Digital Infrastructure for SMEs: The platform provides a sophisticated “second brain” for businesses by transcribing and organizing all voice communications, creating a searchable and actionable database of customer interactions.
• Future Infrastructure Development: Long-term plans to become a full mobile carrier with SIM-level integration represent a significant step toward building new, resilient digital infrastructure that can be replicated globally.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

Beside’s business model is centered on reducing the inequality of opportunity between small and large enterprises.

• Accessible Technology: The service provides SMEs and individual proprietors with access to advanced AI-driven communication tools that were previously only affordable for large corporations.
• Leveling the Playing Field: By enabling a small business to offer a customer service experience comparable to a “super luxurious hotel,” the technology empowers them to compete more effectively with larger, better-resourced competitors.
• Inclusive Market Focus: The company deliberately targets underserved professionals and small businesses across a wide range of industries, ensuring that the benefits of AI technology are distributed more equitably.

Future Outlook and Global Expansion

The newly acquired funding will be allocated to further product development, strategic hiring, and planned expansion into European markets. The company is focused on enhancing team features to support collaborative use within small businesses of 20-50 employees. By mastering the complex regulatory and carrier ecosystem in the United States, Beside has created a scalable blueprint for global expansion. This growth strategy aims to extend its positive impact on SDGs 8, 9, and 10 to a global scale, fostering economic empowerment and innovation for small businesses worldwide.

SDGs Addressed or Connected

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The article highlights how the AI startup “Beside” provides a tool that enhances the productivity and profitability of small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. By offering an affordable “AI receptionist,” the service helps these enterprises capture business they would otherwise lose from missed calls, directly supporting their growth. The CEO’s statement that the tool “helps you win more business” encapsulates its connection to promoting sustained economic growth for small-scale enterprises.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The article is centered on a technology startup that represents innovation in the AI and telecommunications sectors. “Beside” is described as “rethinking how work gets done” and has “rebuilt telephony infrastructure from the ground up.” The company’s successful fundraising of $32 million for product development and expansion is a clear example of fostering innovation and building new technological infrastructure to support businesses.

Identified SDG Targets

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

1. Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation.

   The AI receptionist is a technological upgrade that directly increases the productivity of its users. The article provides a concrete example of an insurance agent who used the product and saw his new written premium triple from “$40,000… to $120,000 ‘overnight, just by myself’.” This demonstrates a significant increase in economic productivity achieved through the adoption of new technology.

2. Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to new technologies.

   The service is explicitly designed for “people and small businesses who can’t afford a full-time assistant.” By targeting a market of “100 million Americans whose jobs happen over the phone,” including contractors, real estate agents, and small business owners, the company is actively encouraging the growth of small enterprises by providing them with access to advanced technology that was previously out of reach.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

1. Target 9.3: Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises… and their integration into value chains and markets.

   The article notes that many small businesses miss a significant portion of their calls, and “four out of five callers who get sent to voicemail never call back.” By ensuring all calls are answered and managed, the AI tool improves the integration of these small enterprises into their markets by strengthening their connection to potential and existing customers.

2. Target 9.b: Support domestic technology development, research and innovation.

   The article details the journey of a technology startup that spent “18 months in stealth” developing its product. The successful raising of “$32 million” in funding from venture capital firms to be used for “product development, hiring, and eventually expanding” is a direct illustration of financial and structural support for domestic technology development and innovation.

Mentioned or Implied Indicators

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Increase in revenue for small businesses: A direct, quantifiable indicator is provided in the article with the example of the insurance agent whose new written premium increased from “$40,000” to “$120,000” after using the product. This measures the impact on economic productivity (Target 8.2).
• Number of small businesses adopting new technology: The article states that the company has already acquired “more than 20,000 paying customers,” serving as a clear indicator of the rate at which small enterprises are accessing and adopting this new technology (Target 8.3).
• Reduction in missed business opportunities: An implied indicator is the reduction in missed calls. The article establishes the problem by stating that “most small businesses answer fewer than 40% of their incoming calls.” The AI’s function of handling all calls directly addresses this, and progress could be measured by the increase in answered calls or captured leads.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• Investment in technology and innovation: The article provides a clear financial indicator by mentioning the specific amounts of funding raised: a “$20 million Series A,” a “$10.5 million Seed round,” and “$1.4 million in extra SAFE.” This total of over $32 million is a direct measure of financial resources mobilized to support innovation (Target 9.b).
• Growth of innovative enterprises: The company’s own growth metrics serve as an indicator. The article notes that the startup has reached “$4 million in annual recurring revenue” and is handling “millions of calls per month,” which demonstrates the successful scaling of an innovative enterprise.

Summary Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: fortune.com