About Phonetic Systems
Phonetic Systems was a Technology company based in Billerica (United States) founded in 1998, and was acquired by ScanSoft in February 2005. It delivers advanced speech recognition solutions for customer service applications. It operates on a B2B model. Phonetic Systems has raised $44.7 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including AT&T, General Atlantic and ScanSoft. The company is recorded as dissolved. Its focus areas include Software, Artificial Intelligence and Speech Recognition. Its competitors include Hyro, Avaamo and Passage AI; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Phonetic Systems, established in 1998, excels in leveraging cutting-edge technology, software, developing AI-driven solutions, and speech recognition. Delivers advanced speech recognition solutions for customer service applications. Committed to advancing standards, it focuses on innovation, efficiency, and delivering value to clients worldwide.
- Headquarters Billerica, United States
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsTechnology
- Website phoneticsystems.com
- Acquired by ScanSoft (Feb 2005)
Funding Insights of Phonetic Systems
Phonetic Systems has successfully raised a total of $44.7M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $37.5 million completed in February 2001. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $44.7M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Series B β $37.5M
- First Round $7.2M
(Mar 2000)
- Investors Count 9
All 2 funding rounds of Phonetic Systems with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2001 | $37.5M | Series B | β | General Atlantic | |
| Mar 2000 | $7.2M | Series A | β | Sadot Research and Development, Magnum Communications Fund |
10 investors in total: 10 institutional.
Investors in Phonetic Systems
Phonetic Systems has secured backing from 10 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include AT&T, General Atlantic and ScanSoft.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Private equity fund focused on global markets | 1980 | generalatlantic.com | New York, United States | |
US focused venture capital firm | polarispartners.com | Boston, United States | ||
| formulaventures.com | ||||
| sadot.co.il | ||||
| achidiminvestments.tcc.mode | ||||
Diversified management consulting services are provided to clients. | 1993 | evergreenpr.com | Somerset, United States | |
Mobile internet, TV, and telecommunication services are provided. | 1876 | att.com | Dallas, United States | |
| magnumvc.com | ||||
| dspolaris.tcc.mode | ||||
Omni-font optical character-recognition system | 1974 | scansoft.com | Burlington, United States |
Investor details for Phonetic Systems
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Timeline of Phonetic Systems
4 dated milestones of Phonetic Systems across 7 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Phonetic Systems is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $7.2M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $37.5M.
- Exit Acquired by ScanSoft.
Competitors of Phonetic Systems
Phonetic Systems has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Hyro, Avaamo and Passage AI.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hyro.ai | 2014 | New York, United States | $114.6M | An AI-based conversational platform is provided for healthcare task automation. | ||
| avaamo.ai | 2014 | Los Altos, United States | $22.57M | 118 | Conversational AI platform for enterprises is provided by Avaamo. | |
| passage.ai | 2016 | Mountain View, United States | $13.3M | A no-code platform for enterprise chatbot development is offered. |
Detailed competitors of Phonetic Systems
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Top companies in Natural Language & Voice AI
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Phonetic Systems (Natural Language & Voice AI) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OpenAI is engaged in developing advanced artificial intelligence technologies. | 2015 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 180.07 B | 11,115 | ||
Provider of AI and cloud based contact center suite solutions | 2001 | San Ramon, California, United States | USD 84.1 M | USD 1.15 B | 3,070 | |
AI-based voice transcription for meetings is provided via cloud software. | 2016 | Los Altos, California, United States | USD 390 M |
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Related news about Phonetic Systems
Complete news archive for Phonetic Systems
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Frequently Asked Questions about Phonetic Systems
Phonetic Systems was founded in 1998 and raised its 1st funding round 2 years after it was founded.
Phonetic Systems is headquartered in Billerica, United States. It is registered at Billerica, Massachusetts, United States.
Phonetic Systems is a funded company, having raised a total of $44.7M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $7.2M, raised on Mar 2000.
Phonetic Systems, established in 1998, excels in leveraging cutting-edge technology, software, developing AI-driven solutions, and speech recognition. Delivers advanced speech recognition solutions for customer service applications. Committed to advancing standards, it focuses on innovation, efficiency, and delivering value to clients worldwide.
Phonetic Systems's top competitors include Hyro, Avaamo and Passage AI.
Phonetic Systems has 10 investors. Key investors include AT&T, General Atlantic, ScanSoft, Evergreen PR, and Polaris Partners.
Yes. Phonetic Systems was acquired by ScanSoft in February 2005.

