Tomato

Tomato.ai (Tomato AI, Inc.) is a Danville, California-based artificial intelligence company that applies generative AI to voice communications, with a focus on call center environments. Its first two products, launched alongside a June 2024 seed extension, are an accent softening tool that reduces the level of accent heard on a live call while preserving the speaker's individual voice, and a noise cancellation feature that removes background noise from calls.

The company positions its work around clarifying speech so that agents are better understood, which it frames as widening access to call center jobs for workers worldwide and expanding the global call center ecosystem. Co-founder and CEO Ofer Ronen previously worked on Contact Center AI at Google, including two contact-center AI projects inside Google's Area 120 incubator, and has sold two startups, to Google and to IAC.

Founding story

Tomato.ai was founded by Ofer Ronen and James Fan. Ronen and his co-founder had worked together on Contact Center AI at Google, where Ronen ran two contact-center AI efforts within the Area 120 incubator; Ronen credits his co-founder with the original idea for the company. The founding insight was that reducing the level of accent heard on calls in real time could bring more workers into the global call center workforce.

Business model

The company sells AI-based voice processing software—accent softening and noise cancellation—aimed at call center operations, including offshore call centers.

Traction

Launched its first two products, accent softening and noise cancellation, in June 2024 in conjunction with a $2.1 million seed extension backed by existing investors Cardumen Capital and Recursive Ventures plus new investor Gaingels.

Latest developments

In June 2024 the company announced a $2.1 million seed round extension led by existing investors Cardumen Capital and Recursive Ventures, with Gaingels joining, timed with the launch of its accent softening and noise cancellation products.