Podcast Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®
Episode: #767: Krisp.ai CEO Arto Minasyan on Voice AI and the Customer Experience
Date: November 13, 2025
Host: Greg Kihlström
Guest: Arto Minasyan, Co-founder & President, Krisp.ai

This episode explores the rapid evolution and future potential of voice AI, particularly in transforming customer experiences. Greg Kihlström interviews Arto Minasyan about the breakthroughs needed in voice technology, how AI is reshaping call centers and global business communication, and the operational strategies—team building, financing, and scaling—underpinning successful AI companies today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Future of Voice AI Technology

• State of Voice AI Technology

  • Krisp.ai processes over 75 billion minutes of conversation monthly but the field remains in its early days.

  • Two areas of focus: human-to-human and human-to-computer voice interactions.

  • Human-computer voice interaction is seen as the biggest opportunity and challenge, as voice becomes the main interface with AI and robots.

    “I think human voice is already becoming de facto the most important medium for communicating to robots and to AI. It's still not there yet… making them sound more natural, bringing more emotions … is not solved.”
    — Arto Minasyan (04:28)

• Breakthroughs Still Needed

  • Studio-quality voice enhancement at the click of a button.

  • Real-time, noise-free, emotionally intelligent AI voice responses.

  • Universal accent conversion and translation for natural communications.

  • Seamless, emotional voice bots for customer service and beyond.

    “Imagine if there was a button which could sound your voice on my end at studio level… It would make our conversation much more productive.”
    — Arto Minasyan (03:46)

• Five-Year Vision

  • Minasyan predicts “much more natural voice AI, much more natural interaction between human and computers” (04:53).

Impact Across Industries

• Call Centers Leading the Way

  • Voice AI boosts human agents’ productivity and effectiveness.
  • Voice bots will handle more routine customer requests, reducing wait times and improving support quality.
  • Enhanced agent capabilities via live translation and real-time voice enhancements.

• Global Business Enablement

  • Real-time voice translation: critical for multinational companies.

  • Real-time accent conversion improves comprehension on global teams, leveling cross-border communications.

  • Small and mid-sized companies can access multilingual support that was previously too resource-intensive.

    “It could start leveling the playing field… not only for the large multinational companies … but also for the mid and large companies that may not have the resources to expand...”
    — Greg Kihlström (11:09)

• Robotics and Voice AI

  • As robots emerge into mass production, seamless human-to-robot communication becomes essential for mainstream adoption.

    “Robots are coming... and we'll have robots everywhere. So a human to robot interaction would be very essential before we get mass deployment.”
    — Arto Minasyan (07:26)

Measuring the ROI of Voice AI Investments

• Key to Decision-Making: Return on Investment (ROI)

  • Business leaders should measure ROI based on cost savings, efficiency gains, and new business capabilities.

  • Example: Automating product interviews to rapidly gather customer feedback at scale.

    “It's all boils down to return on investment… you can get very high ROI by deploying voice AI agents.”
    — Arto Minasyan (10:15)

AI and Business Growth: Funding Strategies

• When to Raise VC vs. Bootstrap?

  • Building world-class tech often requires significant upfront capital—raising from VCs is often necessary.
  • For SaaS with technical founders, bootstrapping to significant revenue is more realistic than before.
  • Minasyan believes “in the next five years we will have a unicorn companies which are bootstrapped … and a lot of AI agents.” (13:51)

• Lessons for Early-Stage Founders

  • Start selling early—even before building the product. Pre-sales validate market fit and attract investors.

    "When you get the customer money, even if you don't have the product, that's the best validation of your idea… It also helps a lot with the VC fundraising."
    — Arto Minasyan (14:09)

Talent, Teams & Global Scaling

• Finding World-Class Talent Outside Silicon Valley

  • Top talent exists everywhere (e.g., Bulgaria, Armenia) but requires diligent search.
  • Early-stage: Focus on assembling the best team, even if it costs more.
  • Scaling: Consider global hiring for cost-effectiveness once processes are mature.

  "At the beginning … better to bring the people than do in a cost-effective way. But then as companies start scaling … finding the proper talent outside of Valley... could be very beneficial."
  — Arto Minasyan (15:39)

• How to Build High-Quality, Distributed Teams

  • Minasyan’s experience: For new products, it's best to have one team in one location for speed and energy.
  • For mature products, distributed teams are more viable.
  • Advice: Build new products with all key people together; distribute later for efficiency.

• Fostering Innovation and Cohesion

  • Company decision-making is purely merit-based—best arguments win, regardless of role or tenure.

  • Direct communicators (engineers, designers, product managers) working with customers often provide the strongest ideas.

    “In our company, all the best arguments always win. It doesn't depend who is in the room... If she or he has the best idea, that should be prioritized…”
    — Arto Minasyan (17:50)

Looking Ahead & Staying Agile

• Short-Term Predictions (1 Year):

  • Increased adoption of AI-driven voice bots and agent assist tools in contact centers.

  • Improved customer service, but dramatic changes will take longer.

    "I think we'll have more voice bots in customer contact centers… more AI in the call center, better customer service. But I don't feel like one year is short term. So I don't think there was like a dramatic change there."
    — Arto Minasyan (18:55)

• Long-Term Vision (10 Years):

  • Customer service will be “10 times better” due to AI advancements.

• Staying Agile as a Leader:

  • Continuous learning and staying true to entrepreneurial values.

  • Openness to new ideas and being adaptable are essential.

    “It's all about learning … and also being very, very open minded to new ideas and changes.”
    — Arto Minasyan (19:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the naturalness of voice as an interface:

  “We take for granted that we type into keyboards or even swiping on a device... it's not as natural as speaking.”
  — Greg Kihlström (05:27)

• On AI as a force for growth, not just cost-cutting:

  “I'm truly believer in more opportunities than threats with AI.”
  — Arto Minasyan (11:55)

• On early-stage product development:

  “A good example would be like recently my other company, we basically started promoting a product which doesn't exist. It was just an idea... and sold like more than $100,000 to like 30 customers.”
  — Arto Minasyan (14:26)

• On distributed teams:

  “If you're building a new product, it's much better to gather all the people in one place ... Then like product is ready ... bringing people outside of that physical location is realistic.”
  — Arto Minasyan (16:42)

Notable Timestamps

• 02:15 – Arto Minasyan’s background and overview of Krisp.ai
• 03:35 – Breakthroughs needed for voice AI to reach human understanding
• 06:00 – Areas where voice AI will make big impacts
• 10:05 – How to measure the ROI of voice AI investments
• 12:16 – Deciding between VC funding and bootstrapping in an AI company
• 14:09 – Lessons learned about early-stage funding strategies
• 15:22 – Building and scaling teams, especially outside Silicon Valley
• 16:42 – Managing the quality and culture of distributed/global teams
• 17:50 – Fostering innovation and ensuring the best ideas rise
• 18:55 – Predictions for the future of voice AI in customer experience
• 19:46 – How Minasyan stays agile as a leader

Episode Takeaways

• Voice AI is revolutionizing customer experience, but its best days are still ahead.
• The technology will narrow language gaps, boost company productivity, and ultimately transform global business communications and service.
• Companies must focus on ROI, thoughtful team-building, and a culture that prizes innovation and meritocracy.
• The next wave of world-class AI companies might not all come from Silicon Valley—or require VC funding.
• Continued learning and agility remain critical for leaders navigating this fast-evolving landscape.