Peak XV Partners and Haptik founder Aakrit Vaish’s AI-focussed investment fund Activate are in talks to participate in Wispr Flow’s new funding round, which is expected to value the San Francisco-based voice dictation startup at $2 billion, people aware of the matter told ET.
Peak XV is discussing an investment of about $15 million in the round that is expected to exceed $250 million, the people said, requesting anonymity as the talks are private. Activate is expected to participate with a $3-5 million cheque through a special purpose vehicle, the same structure it used to back New York-headquarter voice AI company ElevenLabs, they added. ET reported Activate’s investment in ElevenLabs on May 14.
The deal, if completed, would underscore how Indian risk investors are increasingly participating in global funding rounds in AI startups.
Queries sent to Peak XV Partners, Activate, and Wispr Flow remained unanswered.
Bloomberg reported on May 12 about Wispr Flow’s latest fundraise led by Menlo Ventures that would nearly triple its valuation to $2 billion .
Activate is expected to work with Wispr Flow as an on-ground venture partner, similar to its partnership with ElevenLabs, these people familiar with the deal details said. It will help the company deepen enterprise relationships and provide early-stage Indian startups with preferential access to build on its voice infrastructure, they added.
India a big market
Founded in 2021 by Stanford graduates Tanay Kothari and Sahaj Garg, Wispr Flow develops a voice dictation tool that allows users to speak into apps and workflows instead of typing. The company has raised $81 million to date and was valued at $700 million after the last funding round in November 2025. Its backers include Menlo Ventures and Notable Capital.
India is the second-largest market for Wispr Flow by both users and paying subscribers, cofounder and chief executive Kothari told ET in an interview in March. Arguing against the perception that Indians are reluctant to pay, Kothari said they spend where they clearly see value.
“It is interesting that India’s conversion rates, or the percentage of users who pay, are very similar to the US. But the mix is different. In the US, annual and monthly subscriptions are roughly 50-50, whereas in India, about 80% of users opt for annual plans. Once you build trust and demonstrate clear value, people are comfortable committing for the long term,” he said.
India is also the fastest-growing market in terms of users and revenue, growing about 60% month-on-month, a person in the know said. The country currently contributes about 10% to Wispr Flow's revenue and is set to become the No.1 in two years, the person said.
Wispr Flow has recorded 2.5 million downloads globally, according to people familiar with the company’s metrics. In a LinkedIn post in November 2025, Kothari said the company was growing 40% month-on-month , had a user retention rate of 70%, and had increased its annualised revenue run rate tenfold within five months.
The latest funding discussions come as Peak XV has stepped up its US deal activity over the past year, particularly across AI and software-as-a-service companies. The firm recently opened its first US office in the San Francisco Bay Area and hired former Fractal Analytics executive Shelly Singh as an operating partner in the US. It has backed overseas startups such as Primer, Exaforce, PostHog, MarqVision and Hyperbound.
Voice AI has become an increasingly active area for investors as companies build tools that move beyond text-based chatbots to voice-led agents, dictation tools and enterprise workflows. Earlier this month, Peak XV said it led a $50 million funding round in another US-based voice AI startup, Vapi, at a $500 million valuation. Founded by Jordan Dearsley and Nikhil Gupta, Vapi helps companies build and deploy voice agents for customer support and outbound sales.
In India, among the larger AI startups, Sarvam and Emergent are in talks to raise large rounds. ET had reported that Sarvam AI was in talks to raise $300-350 million , while Emergent is discussing raising a $250 million round from Premji Invest , Accel, Westbridge Capital and Creagis.
