LiveKit has raised $100 million in new funding at a $1 billion valuation, as demand grows for infrastructure that supports real-time AI voice and video applications.
Funding Round And Investors
LiveKit announced that the round was led by Index Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Altimeter Capital Management, Hanabi Capital, and Redpoint Ventures.
The financing comes roughly 10 months after LiveKit’s previous fundraise.
Customers And Use Cases
LiveKit provides infrastructure that powers real-time audio and video experiences for AI-driven products. One of its most prominent deployments supports OpenAI’s ChatGPT voice mode.
The company said its customer base also includes xAI, Salesforce, and Tesla, as well as 911 emergency service operators and mental health providers that rely on low-latency, real-time communication.
Origins As An Open Source Project
LiveKit was founded in 2021 by Russ d’Sa and David Zhao as an open source project designed to help developers build applications capable of transmitting real-time audio and video without interruptions.
The project emerged during the pandemic, a period when widespread reliance on video conferencing tools highlighted the limitations of existing real-time communication infrastructure.
Shift To Enterprise Cloud Services
Although LiveKit initially operated as a free developer tool, the company said its business expanded after recognizing demand from larger organizations for a managed cloud offering.
As interest in voice-based AI applications increased, LiveKit began providing enterprise-grade cloud services, which became the primary driver of its commercial growth.
Featured image credits: Freepik
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