Boardy, a professional networking startup utilizing AI voice technology, announced on Thursday that it has successfully closed a $3 million pre-seed funding round.
Co-founded by CEO Andrew D’Souza, Matt Stein, Shen Sivananthan, and brothers Ankur and Abhinav Boyed, the concept for Boardy was born in March, and the team began developing the platform throughout the summer, officially launching it this month.
The concept is straightforward: users provide their phone numbers to Boardy.ai and receive a call from an AI voice assistant named Boardy. During the call, users share what they are working on, and Boardy searches its network to identify potential connections that could assist. Currently, this network includes a few thousand individuals, largely stemming from D’Souza’s connections with investors, founders, and creators. The platform primarily serves individuals looking to meet customers and investors, and it has successfully facilitated introductions for accelerator programs and potential co-founders.
D’Souza started the company in response to the increasing loneliness brought on by social media. Studies indicate that the U.S. is experiencing a loneliness epidemic, which began prior to the pandemic. While other startups focus on AI-generated companions, sometimes with unsettling outcomes, Boardy aims to foster genuine human connections.
We built Boardy to create a better future, where AI enhances our connections and where humans and AI collaborate to tackle some of humanity’s toughest challenges,” D’Souza said.
