Rylo, an AI-powered communication platform built for deaf and hard-of-hearing users, has closed an $85 million Series B round led by General Catalyst, with participation from Canaan, Vertex Ventures and Contour. The company’s mission traces back to founder Tomer Aharoni’s time at Columbia University, where he realized deaf and hard-of-hearing people had no way to make a truly private phone call without relying on a third-party interpreter or stenographer.
From Side Project to FCC-Certified Service
What began as a nights-and-weekends effort called Nagish, built alongside classmate Alon Ezer, grew into a full company after a Google-produced video of a deaf teenager calling her mother went viral, and the COVID-19 pandemic left many deaf communities further isolated. Aharoni and Ezer pursued certification from the Federal Communications Commission, a process that took roughly three and a half years and made Rylo the only fully AI-driven company among a small handful holding this type of federal license. That certification also established the company’s funding model, with the government compensating Rylo per minute of conversation, letting the service remain free for users.
Overcoming Investor Skepticism
Raising capital wasn’t easy. Aharoni pitched 99 investors during the seed round and was rejected by 77 of them, with many dismissing the idea as a niche passion project rather than a scalable business. The new funding will let Rylo move beyond phone calls into workplace accessibility tools, in-person communication support, and sign language translation, aiming to reach more of the 48 million Americans living with hearing loss, a number the World Health Organization expects to swell dramatically worldwide by 2050.