Equal AI raises $30M to screen calls so Indians don’t have to

At a glance:

• Equal AI raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Prosus Ventures and Tomales Bay Capital
• The startup’s app screens calls using AI, displaying reasons for calls and offering quick reply options
• Available on Android with 1M+ monthly active users, the app supports 10 languages and plans an iOS version

How Equal AI’s call screening works

The app uses speech recognition, automatic speech recognition (ASR), and speech generation models to analyze calls. It displays the caller’s intent, such as delivery instructions or financial service requests, and offers quick reply options like “Leave the delivery near the door” or “Give it to the neighbor,” which the AI reads back to the caller. Users can also type custom messages for the AI to voice. Call recordings and transcriptions are stored in the app for reference. The system is designed to handle code-mixing, where users blend multiple languages in a single sentence, a common practice in India.

Funding structure and investor confidence

The $30 million Series B round was led by Prosus Ventures and Tomales Bay Capital, with participation from Think Investments and Valiant Fund. Individual investors include PhonePe’s founder Sameer Nigam, Airtel Family Office’s Zubin Bharti Mittal, Skyflow AI co-founder Anshu Sharma, Meta India’s Sandhya Devanathan, and CtrlS Datacenters’ Sridhar Pinnapureddy. Equal AI has now raised over $42 million total. The round uses a three-tranche structure with tiered valuations based on performance milestones, allowing the startup to advertise a higher valuation even if some equity was sold at lower prices. This approach is uncommon but reflects investor confidence in the company’s growth trajectory.

Expansion plans and competition

Equal AI plans to launch an iOS version of its app and introduce a paid subscription tier with advanced features. The company also aims to screen calls from known contacts, not just unknown numbers. Competitors include Google’s call screening, Apple’s similar tools, and Truecaller, which is developing its own AI assistant. In the U.S., Cloaked, a privacy-focused startup, offers call screening. Equal AI differentiates itself by focusing on local context and avoiding platform dependency, unlike startups like Luzia and Zapia, which faced issues due to Meta’s restrictions on third-party AI bots on WhatsApp.

Local market focus and language support

The startup’s emphasis on Indian language nuances, including code-mixing, has been critical to its success. It supports over 10 languages, addressing the diversity of India’s linguistic landscape. Founder Keshav Reddy, from the GVK conglomerate, highlighted the app’s origin in tackling the overwhelming volume of financial service calls. “If you’re buying car insurance, you might get 20 calls a week, and that’s hard to tackle for a human,” Reddy said. The app’s ability to handle regional dialects and hybrid language use has made it a household name in India.

Future ambitions and risks

Equal AI aims to expand its AI assistant’s capabilities, including proactive actions like texting delivery addresses or booking appointments. However, the company faces risks related to platform dependency, as seen with Luzia and Zapia. By building its own app, Equal AI avoids reliance on third-party ecosystems. The startup also plans to diversify its offerings beyond call screening, leveraging its data-sharing and KYC verification services for financial institutions. Investors like Prosus Ventures see potential for the app to become a sticky product in India’s rapidly growing tech market.

Founder’s vision and industry context

Keshav Reddy, founder of Equal AI, previously worked in data-sharing and KYC verification. His background in the GVK conglomerate provided resources to scale the startup. The app’s success reflects a broader trend of AI-driven solutions addressing daily consumer pain points. While Equal AI’s focus on calls is niche, its ability to adapt to local contexts positions it as a potential leader in India’s AI assistant market. The company’s mix of technical innovation and regional expertise has attracted both venture capital and user adoption.