Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel Back French AI Voice Startup Gradium

A Paris-based artificial intelligence voice startup called Gradium has spun out of a nonprofit research lab and raised $70 million in funding from a group of A-list investors, including former Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt and French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel.

The financing round, which is set to be announced Tuesday, was led by FirstMark Capital and Eurazeo. DST Global, Amplify Partners, shipping magnate Rodolphe Saadé and other investors also participated.

Gradium was founded by engineers and researchers from Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc. and Jane Street, with the goal of developing AI models that customers ...