Helix, a US startup developing voice authentication to verify users are human, said on November 11 (US time) that it raised $6.2 million (about ¥990 million) in a pre-seed round led by Chicago Ventures. Dag Kittlaus, co-founder of Siri and of the AI assistant Viv, will join Helix as an advisor and is listed as an investor in the round.
The company’s system can distinguish AI bots from humans and estimate a user’s age by having the user read four digits aloud. Helix says processing takes under four seconds and that all computation required for authentication is completed on the user’s device. The design does not store voice or other biometric data or personally identifiable information on external servers, and the company says identity can be verified without uploading a driver’s license or a facial photo.
How Helix’s voice authentication works
Helix compressed its model so it can run locally on devices such as the iPhone 13, which the company says lowers deployment costs. The startup positions its technology as an alternative or complement to CAPTCHA, aiming to block bot attacks as generative AI makes it harder to tell humans and AI apart. Alex Oberg, Helix co-founder and CEO, noted that online identity verification to date has relied on “proxy indicators” such as email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses and device fingerprints, and argued for reconsidering human identity based on biometric signals like voice.
The company envisions use cases including ticket sales, matching services, gaming, online gambling and financial services. Firms can integrate Helix’s authentication via a software development kit (SDK). Helix is conducting beta tests with early partners such as Zeel, which has adopted the technology to verify the identity of workers who visit customers’ homes.
The pre-seed round was led by Chicago Ventures, with participation from BAM Ventures, Aglaé Ventures, Corazon Capital, Tusk Ventures, Yonder Ventures, Rule30, Press On Ventures, Brown Angel Group and others.
