Vox AI, a conversational voice AI platform designed for drive-thru and operational automation in quick-service restaurants (QSRs), has raised $8.7 million in seed funding.

The funding round was led by global venture capital firm Headline, with participation from True, Simon Capital and returning investor Souschef Ventures.

The funding brings Vox AI’s total raised to $10 million and will support international growth, including the opening of a new San Francisco office.

Founded in October 2023, Vox AI targets the $1 trillion global QSR market, aiming to address challenges such as labour shortages, high turnover and increasing operational complexity. Its multilingual AI platform enables customers to place drive-thru and mobile orders without human assistance, while also providing staff with real-time inventory alerts and shift guidance.

The company says its technology can process orders in over 90 languages, integrate into existing QSR tech stacks without disruption and self-optimise based on accents, menu synonyms, background noise and site-specific acoustics.

Vox AI, co-founder and CEO Maurice Kroon, said: “Vox AI is pushing voice technology far beyond generic Natural Language Processing. We’re not just improving voice technology. We’re building a new industry standard for how guests interact with fast-food chains and QSR brands they love and how restaurant staff run them. Our goal is to make voice the de facto interface for every QSR location – without the need to upgrade their current hardware.”

According to Vox AI, early deployments with major fast-food chains have delivered up to 17-times ROI, reduced drive-thru wait times, boosted upselling opportunities and improved customer satisfaction.

 Dominic Wilhelm, partner at Headline, commented: “We are thrilled to partner with the Vox AI team to power the future of drive-thru and QSR ordering to not only improve companies’ bottom lines, but also reduce employee turnover and improve customer satisfaction.”

Top image: © Vox AI