Lyle Pratt is Founder & CEO of Vida, a leading provider of enterprise-grade AI voice solutions, transforming the way telecom service providers and small to medium-sized businesses operate.
With over 15 years of leadership experience and product strategy expertise in the telecom space, Pratt has a proven track record in leading startups from formation to acquisition. Prior to Vida, he founded BetterVoice.com in 2010, which was acquired by Inteliquent (prev NASDAQ: IQNT) in 2016. Pratt has also held various leadership positions at Inteliquent, which was acquired by Sinch.
Pratt is an investor, programmer, entrepreneur and economics geek. He holds an MBA in Finance, M.S. in Engineering & Technology Management and B.S. in Business Economics from Louisiana Tech University. Pratt also serves as a Limited Partner and Advisor at Trammell Venture Partners.
What inspired you to start Vida, and what problem are you solving with AI voice agents?
I’ve spent my career building software startups in the telecom space, including BetterVoice.com, which was acquired by Inteliquent. While leading product strategy at Sinch/Inteliquent, I saw firsthand how AI, especially large language models, was on the verge of transforming telecom. Many businesses still rely on outdated phone systems and automated menus – some of which I had helped build over the past decade – that often frustrate customers rather than help them. Recognizing the need for these systems to evolve with AI, we founded Vida to provide AI-powered voice agents that deliver natural, real-time and emotionally expressive conversations at scale. I teamed up with Noah Hayes, an expert in AI and venture-backed startups including Google’s AI venture firm Gradient Ventures, and Brandon Robinson, a seasoned startup founder with a strong background in telecom and product innovation, to build solutions that redefine how businesses communicate.
How does Vida differentiate itself from other AI-driven voice solutions?
What sets Vida apart is our intelligent AI voice agents, which go beyond traditional automated phone systems that simply route calls or provide scripted responses. Vida’s voice agents actively engage in conversations, handling complex tasks such as lead qualification, scheduling, customer service and sales, helping businesses automate key workflows and improve efficiency. Vida also delivers real-time, multilingual conversations at scale. Unlike many voice systems that sound robotic or struggle with natural interaction, our AI voice agents provide lifelike, emotionally expressive and low-latency responses that feel natural.
Additionally, our team has decades of experience building voice technology, allowing us to create AI voice solutions tailored for small businesses and telecom service providers that rely on high-quality voice interactions. Vida integrates seamlessly with existing communication platforms as well, such as Verve Cloud by Digerati Technologies, ensuring an easy and efficient deployment process for our partners.
What types of companies are adopting Vida’s technology, and what use cases are you seeing?
Vida’s AI voice technology is being adopted by a wide range of companies, including small and medium-sized businesses, telecom service providers, managed service providers (MSPs), and industry-specific platforms like Cox Automotive and Athena Health.
Common use cases include handling inbound customer inquiries, automating appointment scheduling, qualifying leads, processing orders and payments, providing multilingual customer support and more. We’ve also partnered with telecom and service providers to integrate seamlessly into existing business infrastructures. This enables partners to enhance their offerings with Vida’s advanced AI voice capabilities while making deployment simple and scalable for SMBs.
Can you share any specific customer success stories or feedback that highlight Vida’s impact?
Since its launch, Vida has successfully deployed over 20,000 AI voice agents, handling more than two million calls and texts for SMBs and telecom providers. We have empowered small businesses to enhance customer interactions, automate routine tasks, and streamline operations, reducing operational costs, minimizing human error, and freeing up time for business owners and employees to focus on growth and strategic initiatives.
Vida recently announced its integration with OpenAI’s Realtime API. How does this enhance the capabilities of your AI voice agents?
Vida’s integration with OpenAI’s Realtime API takes our AI voice agents to the next level by enabling more natural, emotionally expressive and multilingual conversations. Unlike traditional voice AI solutions that sound robotic or struggle with fluid interactions, our agents can modulate tone, express emotions like empathy or enthusiasm, and seamlessly handle interruptions—just like a real human conversation. With super low latency, customers receive instant responses without awkward delays, while multilingual support allows businesses to engage a diverse global audience. This not only enhances customer service but also fosters deeper engagement, trust and loyalty.
Vida has also expanded its Partner and Reseller Programs—how are MSPs and telecom providers benefiting from these partnerships?
Vida recently expanded its Partner and Reseller Programs, enabling MSPs and telecom resellers to offer our voice AI capabilities directly to their customers. Through seamless integrations with over 7,000 apps and platforms, Vida enables partners to offer advanced, emotionally expressive and multilingual voice solutions. These capabilities not only drive new revenue streams but also ensure seamless deployments and exceptional customer experiences.
What do you see as the biggest trends shaping AI voice technology and its role in telecom?
AI voice technology is rapidly evolving, and one of the biggest trends shaping its role in telecom is its expanding capabilities. Beyond making conversations more fluid, AI voice agents are becoming more proactive, personalized and deeply integrated into business operations. They adapt in real-time based on customer data, past interactions and preferences. This allows them to continuously refine responses, creating a more tailored and engaging experience. AI voice agents are no longer just handling simple customer inquiries—they’re becoming key drivers of automation, seamlessly integrating with telecom platforms, CRMs, billing systems and support channels. This deeper integration enables more intelligent decision-making, faster resolutions and a more efficient, data-driven approach to customer engagement. Telecom providers are increasingly adopting AI voice technology into their solutions, transforming how businesses interact with customers and manage communications at scale.
What challenges do businesses face when adopting AI-powered voice solutions, and how does Vida help overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges businesses face when adopting AI-powered voice solutions is accessibility, both in terms of cost and ease of implementation. Many AI voice systems have historically been expensive, complex and designed for large enterprises, leaving smaller businesses without viable options. Vida removes these barriers by offering an AI voice solution that is affordable, adaptable and user-friendly. Our AI agents leverage recent AI advancements such as OpenAI’s Realtime API to deliver enterprise-grade capabilities at a fraction of the cost, making them accessible to businesses of all sizes. We also prioritize a seamless setup process, whether you’re setting up and onboarding a Vida AI agent yourself or integrating it with your existing communication platforms, ensuring businesses can get up and running quickly with minimal disruption.
As you look to scale, what role will strategic investment play in accelerating Vida’s vision?
Strategic investment will accelerate Vida’s growth as we expand AI-powered agents beyond voice. With increasing demand for intelligent AI solutions, we continue to enhance our platform, deepen integrations, and push the boundaries of what AI-driven communication can achieve. Our technology is already delivering sophisticated, accessible, and cost-effective solutions to businesses of all sizes, and investment presents an opportunity to further scale and innovate in this rapidly evolving landscape.
