Siri Co-Founder Backs Helix’s On-Device Voice Identity Tech

For years, websites have relied on tools like CAPTCHA to confirm that the user behind a screen is human. More recently, social platforms have turned to photos and videos to verify identity. Now a startup called Helix is betting that voice can do the same job—without requiring users to hand over sensitive personal data.

Helix’s voice technology runs directly on a user’s device. That approach has attracted backing from Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus, who will also serve as an advisor.

The company has raised $6 million in a funding round led by Chicago Ventures, with participation from BAM Ventures, Aglaé Ventures, Corazon Capital, Tusk Ventures, Yonder Ventures, Rule30, and Brown Alumni Group.

Founding Team and Background

Helix was founded in 2025 by Alex Oberg, Anna Dorofiyenko, and Mike Hall. Oberg previously worked at Ticketmaster, which acquired his earlier startup. Dorofiyenko led data science teams at Live Nation and Zillow. Hall has worked at Nike and Tinder, where he helped develop the initial matching algorithm.

At Ticketmaster, Oberg played a role in creating Verified Fan, a system designed to keep bots off the platform. As AI capabilities advanced, he began exploring a new approach to the same problem.

“As AI started to come up in the last two years, I was realizing that it’s going to make it increasingly difficult to determine who’s human and who’s not on the Internet,” Oberg said. “Identity on the Internet’s always been about proxies for identity, right? It’s your email, it’s your phone, it’s your IP address, it’s your device fingerprint, it’s your device ID.”

With AI agents such as Instinct and Muse on the rise, Oberg argues the industry needs to rethink human identity online and rely on biometric signals like voice—the space Helix is targeting.

How the Technology Works

Helix’s core technology runs directly on a device to determine whether someone is human and to estimate their age. The company is also running pilots to explore whether voice can serve as a biomarker for conditions such as drunkenness or distress.

Helix can deploy its technology to replace or supplement CAPTCHA and help block bot attacks. Because its model can run locally even on an iPhone 13, the company says deployment costs are minimal. One customer, Zeel—an in-home healthcare provider—uses Helix’s tech to verify the identities of providers visiting customers’ homes.

Why Voice, and Why Now

The push comes as AI-generated content and autonomous agents make traditional identity signals—email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses, device fingerprints—easier to spoof. Voice offers a biometric signal that is harder to replicate at scale, and on-device processing helps address privacy concerns by keeping raw audio local.

Helix’s bet is that voice verification can become a practical layer of trust for websites, marketplaces, and platforms that need to distinguish humans from bots without adding friction for legitimate users.

Image Credits: Helix

via TechCrunch