Founders Feature: Volley - M12

Earlier this month, Volley announced their $55M Series C. We’re proud to say we co-led that funding round, along with Lightspeed Venture Partners.

A market leader in creating voice-enabled games via AI platforms, we sat down with Volley co-founders Max Child and James Wilsterman to learn more about them, how they got the company to where it is, and future plans for Volley. See what they had to say:

How do you decide which investors to bring on board? What do you look for in a strategic partner?

Max: When deciding which investors to bring on board, we prioritize those who align with our vision and values. Our latest $55 million Series C round was co-led by M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund and Lightspeed Venture Partners, both of whom share our belief in the transformative power of voice-controlled AI games. We seek partners who bring more than just capital; they offer insights, relationships, and support that can propel Volley to new heights. Strategic partners should understand the potential of voice technology, AI, and gaming, and be as excited about the future as we are. We value long-term relationships and look for partners who are committed to growing with us, helping us leverage our mission to build a global business.

James: We seek investors with deep expertise in AI, as the industry is rapidly evolving. We value investors who are knowledgeable about the latest technologies and who can provide access to AI experts to help us stay at the forefront of the field. Additionally, we look for partners who are excited about gaming and entertainment applications for AI and can help us reach new audiences.

Looking back, was there a particular moment or event that made you decide to take the entrepreneurial leap? What do you wish you had known before starting your company?

Max: The entrepreneurial leap for us was a series of realizations and pivotal moments. In 2015, chatbot experiences were emerging, and we saw an opportunity to create conversation-based games for platforms like text and Facebook Messenger. The real turning point came in 2017 when I received an Alexa as a birthday gift. James and I quickly discovered that voice interaction was far more engaging than text, prompting us to adapt our chat games for voice technology. This decision set us on the path to building what Volley is today.

Since then, we’ve reached over 30 million homes on platforms like Roku, Fire TVs, Alexas, and smartphones. We’ve turned beloved TV shows like “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” into interactive voice games and even launched our first game featuring an entirely LLM-powered host.

Reflecting on our journey, I wish we had given up on ideas that weren’t working sooner. We spent over three years building iOS apps without a clear growth strategy, and thus reached very few users. Good products are nothing without distribution!

James: A key moment was when I casually pitched a startup idea to my friend and eventual co-founder, Max, during dinner many years ago. Instead of laughing it off as unrealistic, his serious consideration and questions gave me confidence to earnestly pursue entrepreneurship.

Before starting Volley, I wish I had known how much the market itself can pull the right ideas out of founders—if they are open to it. A common mistake is being too narrowly focused on one idea or solution despite countervailing market signals.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far, and how did you overcome it?

Max: The biggest challenge we’ve faced has been navigating the rapid advancements in AI and voice technology while staying true to our mission. Keeping up with technological changes requires constant learning and adaptation. We overcame this by fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. Our team is dedicated to integrating the latest advancements into our products, like our LLM-powered host in 20 Questions for Alexa. By prioritizing user feedback and maintaining a focus on seamless, joyful entertainment, we ensure that our games remain intuitive and enjoyable. This approach has helped us maintain our competitive edge while continuing to deliver exceptional experiences to our users.

James: Building a VC-backed consumer technology startup over the last decade has been challenging, especially with few big outcomes since companies like Snapchat and Doordash emerged in the early 2010s. At Volley, we overcame this by demonstrating significant user adoption and monetizing early and effectively. We needed to be an outlier in terms of revenue scale for a consumer startup and we needed to remain focused on our vision despite living through several technology hype cycles.

What trends do you see in your industry that excite you? If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be?

Max: We’re excited about the increasing adoption of voice technology and its integration into everyday devices. The proliferation of voice-enabled TVs, smart speakers, and mobile devices opens up new possibilities for interactive gaming experiences. We’re also thrilled by the advancements in AI, particularly in natural language processing and speech synthesis, which will allow us to create more engaging games. The recent GPT-4o and Gemini demos reinforce our belief that speech is the best way for consumers to interact with AI. If we could change one thing about our industry, it would be the pace at which large platforms (especially mobile) embrace voice technology. We believe there’s immense potential for voice-controlled games to reach broader audiences, and we hope to see more companies exploring this space.

James: I’m excited by the trend of subscription bundles in gaming—with Xbox Game Pass as a prime example. These bundles provide gamers with more value and allow developers to be more creative, without overloading their games with in-app purchases and ads.

I hope that the adoption of generative AI will lead to significant changes, including enabling more people to create AAA-caliber 3D games without the need for time-consuming asset production and rigging.

How do you see your company evolving in the next 5-10 years?

Max: In the next 5-10 years, we envision Volley continuing to lead the charge in voice-controlled gaming and executing on our plan of becoming the “Netflix for AI games” on smart TV, smart speaker, and mobile platforms. With the latest round of funding, we can accelerate our development of new voice-controlled, AI-powered games. We aim to expand our presence across all major voice-enabled platforms and devices, making our games available to an even wider audience. Our focus will be on creating more immersive and interactive experiences, leveraging advancements in AI to enhance gameplay. We also plan to explore new genres and formats, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with voice technology. Ultimately, we see Volley as a pioneer in the next generation of gaming, bringing joy and connection to millions of players around the world.

James: Our goal at Volley is to add dozens of voice-controlled games to our catalog and subscription bundle over the next few years. We expect our games to become more immersive with the addition of LLM-powered characters to compete against or collaborate with. In 5-10 years, we envision it will be commonplace to interact with video game characters through voice.