/Companies

Phonely

YC S24

San Jose, US · Founded 2023 · Delaware corporation · 10 employees · Hiring · 16 known investors

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Phonely builds AI receptionists that answer phone calls, schedule appointments, and provide customer support for businesses. The platform serves enterprises and regulated industries like healthcare that need to automate high-volume customer interactions while maintaining compliance.

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S24)

Phonely was founded in 2023 by Will Bodewes and Nisal Ranasinghe.

WBWill Bodewes
Will BodewesCo-founder · Chief Executive OfficerHe previously pursued a PhD in applied artificial intelligence at the University of Melbourne and founded an audio-tech startup.
NRNisal Ranasinghe
Nisal RanasingheCo-FounderNisal Ranasinghe studied electronic and telecommunications engineering and worked as a senior engineer in the AI division of a telecommunications company before pursuing a PhD in explainable AI and healthcare AI at the University of Melbourne. He is co-founder and CTO of Phonely.
WB
Will Bodewes Nisal RanasingheFounder
AH
Aidan HallettFounding Engineer
HP
Holly ProulxOperations
IF
Islay FossettChief of Staff
RJ
Ryan JoswickOperations
GAGeoff Abraham
Geoff AbrahamChief of StaffformerFounder at Spoken
AJ
Alex JohnstonHead Recruiterformer
BL
Brooke LacinaRecruiterformer
GF
Gabriel FranciscoEAformer

Board

CBCaroline Broder
Caroline BroderBoard directorPrincipal at Base10 Partners

Investors · 16

7BC Venture Capitallisted by 7BC Venture CapitalSan Francisco

How we know: a partner's Signal profile · Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Nivesha Venturesreported

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ProCap VelocityreportedLynnwood

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Red Rooster VenturesreportedSan Mateo

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Rice CapitalreportedCovina

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Team IgnitereportedFolsom · $15M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Venture Investment AssociatesreportedPeapack

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Also in the syndicate · 3

Engage CXEtech Global ServicesTSA Group

Reported raises · per SEC filings

Form D private placements

$18.3M disclosed across 1 round · 2025

▶$18.3MraisedMar 2026 · 31 investors · Other
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • William BodewesExecutive Officer, Director
  • Caroline BroderDirector
Offering amount
$18.3M
Amount sold
$18.3M
First sale
Dec 2025
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware, 2024
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.

Founder mafia

2 people who came through Phonely went on to found or lead other companies.

Related companies · 10

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SmithSmith.ai provides an AI Receptionist backed by optional North America-based human agents that screens calls, books appointments, handles payment collection, and updates CRMs for mid-market companies. It also offers Virtual Receptionist plans staffed by live agents available 24/7, plus call analytics and transcription dashboards.
VoiceflowVoiceflow provides a platform for building AI agents that handle customer interactions, starting with customer support. The company serves businesses looking to deploy conversational AI across customer-facing channels.
CallhippoCallHippo is a cloud-based telephony and communications platform that provides a comprehensive suite of call management, analytics, and AI-powered features for sales and customer service teams. The platform enables businesses to automate calling processes, track marketing effectiveness, monitor call quality, and engage customers across voice, SMS, and WhatsApp channels.
Retell AIRetell AI builds an enterprise-grade voice AI platform that handles phone calls for industries including healthcare, delivery, and insurance. The platform enables businesses to automate customer-facing voice interactions.
Synthflow AISynthflow provides a platform for building AI voice agents using a modular, API-connected builder with in-house telephony, testing sandbox, real-time call monitoring, and data fine-tuning. It targets enterprises that need to deploy and manage voice automation at scale.
CloudtalkCloudTalk provides an AI voice platform for global calling used by sales and support teams, offering features like parallel dialing, call routing, inbound and outbound AI voice agents, international SMS/WhatsApp messaging, and call analytics. Its cloud-based voice infrastructure supports numbers in over 160 countries for teams handling high volumes of customer conversations.
LindyLindy is an AI executive assistant that manages email, schedules meetings, takes notes, and handles administrative tasks for individual professionals and teams. It integrates with email, calendar, and hundreds of third-party applications to automate workplace busywork.
Bland AIBland is an enterprise voice AI platform for building, running, and monitoring AI phone agents that handle inbound and outbound calls, replacing IVRs and staffing AI call centers. It targets regulated industries such as healthcare, insurance, financial services, and logistics, and runs on the customer's own infrastructure with compliance certifications.

Companies working in the same space as Phonely.

Legal entities · 1

corporate structure
Phonely, Inc.

In the news

Frequently asked questions

What does Phonely do?
Phonely builds AI receptionists that answer phone calls, schedule appointments, and provide customer support for businesses. The platform serves enterprises and regulated industries like healthcare that need to automate high-volume customer interactions while maintaining compliance.
Who founded Phonely?
Phonely was founded by Will Bodewes, Nisal Ranasinghe in 2023.
Who are Phonely's investors?
Phonely's investors include 7BC Venture Capital, Pioneer, Transpose Platform Management, Y Combinator, Asymmetry Ventures, Base10 Partners, Nivesha Ventures, Pathlight Ventures and 5 more.
How much funding has Phonely raised?
Phonely has disclosed $18.3M raised across 1 round.
Where is Phonely headquartered?
Phonely is headquartered in San Jose, US.