New York-based Slang has raised $36 million in Series B funding to eliminate the “unanswered call” problem in the hospitality industry. The round was led by U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), with 100% participation from existing backers including Homebrew and Wing VC, bringing the startup’s total capital raised to $68 million.
The big picture: Restaurants and hotels quietly lose massive revenue—up to 50% of inbound opportunities—because staff are too busy to answer the phone. Slang provides a “Superhost” voice layer that answers calls instantly, handles complex reservations, and processes catering leads 24/7. The platform has already handled over 25 million calls for more than 2,000 locations, including major groups like Founding Farmers.
How it works:
- Proprietary Dataset: Leverages data from 10 million unique guest interactions to understand nuanced intent, tone, and common friction points in hospitality speech.
- Deep Integration: Syncs directly with existing reservation systems and CRMs to book tables and route high-value private event leads without human intervention.
- Proactive Engagement: Beyond answering, the system is evolving to proactively reach out to guests for rebooking and relationship management.
The catch: Slang’s “95%+ guest satisfaction” is impressive for a voice system, but the platform’s expansion into proactive outreach (rebooking reminders) moves it from a helpful utility into the territory of potentially intrusive marketing. As consumers become increasingly wary of automated outreach, Slang must balance “thoughtful reminders” with the risk of brand-damaging spam. Furthermore, as seen in the broader wholesale automation and customer service sectors, the “Superhost” model faces a crowded market of generalist voice bots. Slang’s long-term defense rests entirely on its industry-specific data moat; it must prove that a specialized hospitality model provides a significantly warmer, more accurate experience than the cheaper, commoditized voice agents being integrated into major cloud platforms.
Key Details
- Funding: $36M (Series B)
- Lead: U.S. Venture Partners
- CEO: Alex Sambvani
- Sector: Hospitality Tech / Voice Automation
