In India, phone calls remain the heartbeat of business communication. From customer support lines to recruitment screening, much of this interaction has traditionally depended on humans or clunky interactive voice response (IVR) systems. This tech space, however, is about to evolve, according to Maitreya Wagh, co-founder of Bolna AI, a firm that provides scalable human-like voice AI solutions for B2B enterprises.
“For businesses, around 80% of that will be automated in the next couple of years,” he said in an exclusive conversation with AIM, adding, “that means completely transforming IVR, pre-recorded calls, and even a lot of routine human phone calls. What enterprises really need is an engine or infra layer that fits into their systems and lets them easily build agents that can automate all of these calls.”
Bolna refers to itself as the “distribution layer for every voice model,” highlighting its orchestration platform that integrates multiple speech-to-text and text-to-speech large language models. With an open-source framework, the startup connects telephony providers such as Twilio and Plivo, enabling users to build, test, deploy, and scale conversational voice agents in just minutes.
The platform includes features such as bulk calling, real-time API triggers, human-in-the-loop handoffs, model switching for optimisation, and multilingual support in over 10 Indian and foreign languages, with integrations for tools like Zapier and n8n.
Beyond Chatbots: Voice AI’s Turf
Bolna’s founders argue that voice AI isn’t simply the next iteration of chatbots. It has the potential to redefine industries where conversation is central. Recruitment, for instance, is already being reshaped.
“All sorts of screening calls, first-level interviews, outreach, onboarding, and training, we’re seeing these rapidly automated,” said Wagh.
He also pointed to consumer-facing applications. Online form-filling on health tech or fintech platforms can be clumsy, often requiring follow-up conversations to capture details. Voice agents, Bolna believes, could eliminate that friction.
Customer service, of course, remains a vast market in India, and the integration of AI in it has changed the game. “It’s a pretty bad experience right now to wait 30-45 minutes to get your queries solved. We don’t think that will even exist in the future,” he said. Though he avoided naming clients still under wraps, Wagh confirmed that large Indian companies are already working with Bolna to automate customer lines.
Standing Out in a Crowd
The voice AI arena is busy, with big tech firms and startups alike rushing in. Bolna argues its edge lies in product design and distribution.
“From day one, we’ve been working on voice AI calling quality, while a lot of others only recently shifted to it from chatbots. The quality of calls with us is significantly different,” said Wagh.
Another differentiator is Bolna’s product-led approach. “Most players are service-led. You go to them, they spend a month building an agent for you, and then deploy it. We are self-serve. Anyone can come, easily build an agent, and start making calls. It’s a great way to get people on board without long demo waits and sales cycles,” he said.
Unlocking Global Doors
One of the biggest milestones in Bolna’s journey so far came this September: acceptance into Y Combinator’s Fall 2025 (YC F25) batch.
“The network just opens a lot of doors,” Wagh acknowledged. “We’ve had meetings with enterprises this week that we didn’t have earlier, and the only thing that changed was the announcement. This goes beyond India. YC unlocks a global brand that was tougher to achieve before.”
Although the company focuses on India, significant model development takes place in the US. Their proximity to YC companies developing voice models enables them to serve as a distribution channel. He added that the startup is currently managing distribution for Eleven Labs in India and plans to extend this approach to other emerging models.
Unlike many startups that join YC at the idea or prototype stage, Bolna arrives with revenue already in hand. “We’re joining YC already at around $400K annual recurring revenue. Our goal is to reach $1 million before the batch ends. I don’t see us pivoting. The vision is clear,” Wagh asserted.
Now Is the Inflexion Point
Voice AI has been hyped for years, but adoption has lagged. According to Wagh, the last six months have been a turning point.
“When we started two years ago, quality wasn’t good enough, and costs were too high. Adoption just wasn’t there. But, in the last three to six months, it has exploded. Every enterprise is looking to build or buy voice AI agents,” he said.
Many enterprises that tried building in-house discovered the effort outweighed the payoff. Wagh explained that it makes more sense to use an orchestration play with multiple models and a better conversational experience. “Cheaper at scale, adoption is becoming quicker.”
The consumer response has also shifted. In campaigns with tens of thousands of calls, few asked if the voice on the other end was AI. “That either means they don’t realise it’s AI, or they don’t care. The job is being done,” Wagh said.
Bolna’s Future
India, Wagh added, remains a huge opportunity. “It’s a very large, voice-dominated market. Indians like to talk.”
But, the company is also realistic about challenges. Some enterprises may choose to build everything in-house. Others will test multiple models before committing. Bolna’s strategy is to grow fast, build trust, and become the default orchestration partner.
Bolna’s story illustrates how India’s startup ecosystem is shifting from producing SaaS companies that serve local needs to building global infrastructure players. By orchestrating the messy ecosystem of voice AI models, Bolna is betting it can become indispensable to enterprises everywhere.