S2E36: Meet the Man Who Left Siri to Build the Future of Voice AI

Nikola has been building voice AI since it was basically a lab experiment. Cambridge → a startup that got acquired by Apple → then straight into the deep end with PolyAI: enterprise voice agents for customer support, CX, and the brutal reality of contact centers. In this episode, Nikola and Manny go right at the parts people avoid: why voice is still the dominant interface, why contact centers are structurally broken (attrition, no-shows, “hiring as strategy”), and why the BPO model collapses the second you try to automate it. Then the real fight: monetisation. They unpack why CCaaS incumbents move slowly, why “outcome-based” is trickier than it sounds in enterprise, and how PolyAI actually prices today — consumption vs outcome vs license, plus what happens when buyers demand predictability. If you’re building agentic CX, selling into enterprise, or trying to price AI without nuking your margins — this one is for you. 🟢 Links & resources Get Paid.ai → Follo...