HiOctave has launched with the mission of helping small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) revolutionize how they automate and personalize customer experiences. And the company has secured $15 million in funding led by Vinod Khosla and his firm Khosla Ventures. Additional financial backing comes from several notable investors, including Celesta Capital and the Anthology Fund, which is operated jointly by Anthropic and Menlo Ventures, along with Carya Venture Partners.
The driving forces behind HiOctave are co-founders Andy Lee and Anand Chandrasekaran. Lee, who is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of Alorica, has extensive experience in the customer service sector. Chandrasekaran, another key player in this venture, serves as the Managing Partner at Celesta Capital and has previously held significant roles at major tech companies such as Meta, Five9, and General Catalyst.
Before HiOctave, Lee and Chandrasekaran co-founded Crescendo, an innovative AI-focused customer experience platform aimed at enterprises. Crescendo has made a remarkable impact in the market, growing to $100 million in revenue within just 20 months and successfully implementing over 500 AI-enabled agent deployments for mid-market enterprises.
Golan Agmon, who previously served as the eCommerce COO at the $10 billion SMB software company Wix, has taken on the role of co-founder and CEO at HiOctave, bringing additional expertise to the leadership team.
SMBs constitute over 90% of all businesses in the United States and play a critical role in the economy by employing 45% of the private workforce and contributing 44% to the nation’s GDP. Despite their significant presence, many of these businesses struggle to access modern, AI-driven tools necessary for establishing and maintaining high-quality, personalized customer relationships at scale.
HiOctave aims to bridge this gap by providing a comprehensive platform that empowers SMB founders and their small teams to deliver high-touch, high-trust customer service without incurring substantial overhead costs. This is especially crucial, as most SMBs lack the resources to assemble dedicated teams for vendor selection or deployment.
HiOctave’s platform is designed with convenience in mind, offering an easy-to-use, mobile-first experience that includes a range of solutions for customer satisfaction management. Features include autonomous voice and digital agents, automated quality monitoring, voice of customer analytics, and escalation tools, all tailored specifically for SMBs.
How the funding will be used: With the new funding, HiOctave plans to accelerate its product development and expand its market presence. The company is committed to providing enterprise-grade automation solutions at price points accessible to SMBs, enabling business owners to reconnect with their customers in meaningful, lasting ways. Through this approach, HiOctave aims to empower the next generation of SMEs to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace by fostering strong, direct relationships with their clientele.
KEY QUOTES:
“Agentic AI will transform how small businesses operate. SMBs have long been underserved by traditional software. HiOctave will empower entrepreneurs to run their businesses in the era of AI, led by a team with a proven track record of bringing AI to new markets and deep experience building for small business owners.”
Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures
“We’re grateful for Vinod’s partnership and shared belief that off-the-shelf CSAT has huge growth potential within the $750B SMB software market. With Golan joining as CEO alongside Andy and myself, we have the foundation for a powerhouse team that blends SMB‑platform know‑how, large‑scale CX operations, and AI product leadership. We are confident HiOctave can transform customer experience for SMBs.”
HiOctave co-founder and Celesta Capital Managing Partner Anand Chandrasekaran
“I’ve spent my career creating companies that help enterprises deliver customer support at scale. With HiOctave, we’re bringing together that same ethos to offer best-in-class AI to SMBs—without the enterprise price tag. We’re excited to help smaller companies automate the repetitive, elevate the human moments of engagement and connection, and more easily grow loyalty and revenue.”
Co-founder and Executive Chairman Andy Lee
“I am excited to bring my experience helping SMBs grow their online businesses and harness it for Agentic AI to reimagine how SMBs connect with their customers. SMBs everywhere are looking for omnichannel experiences that build lasting loyalty and restore authentic relationships – we believe HiOctave can be that partner to help their businesses truly thrive.”
Golan Agmon, HiOctave’s Co-Founder and CEO
