# Decagon

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/decagon
Decagon builds AI agents that answer customers by chat, email and phone and take actions like refunds, for companies such as Chime, Avis and Deutsche Telekom. Sierra's main rival.

## In brief

- Valued at $4.5B in Jan 2026, triple its value six months earlier; added 100+ enterprise customers in a year.
- Agents follow Agent Operating Procedures: plain-language instructions with code where precision matters.
- Voice 3 (Oct 2026) splits listening/speaking and reasoning into two parallel models to cut lag.

## Facts

- Founded: 2023
- Headquarters: US
- Status: private
- Valuation: $4.5B (private valuation)
- Raised: $250M
- Website: https://decagon.ai
- Frontiers: [AI](https://technooptimist.io/ai.md) (Agents)

## Programs

- [Decagon agents](https://technooptimist.io/ai/decagon-agents.md) (AI): Scaling. Voice 3 and Chord speech model launched Oct 2026; self-improving Duet Autopilot since June.

## Technical approach

- **AOPs: Procedures in plain language**: Teams write workflows as natural-language steps with code hooks, so non-engineers can change how the agent behaves.
- **Self-improvement: Agents that propose their own fixes**: Duet Autopilot scans live conversations, drafts fixes, tests them on hundreds of past chats and asks a human to approve.
- **Voice: Two models in parallel**: A fast model handles listening and talking while a stronger one reasons and calls tools, so the caller hears no dead air.

## Open problems

- **Safe self-improvement** (active research): Letting agents rewrite their own procedures risks breaking policy; every change still needs human sign-off.
- **Proving resolution, not deflection** (open): Customers judge agents by problems solved, not chats avoided; Decagon publishes few hard outcome numbers.

## Latest updates

- **1 Oct 2026**: Decagon launches Voice 3 and Chord, its own speech model for customer calls. Voice 3 runs two models side by side: a fast one that listens and talks, and a stronger one that reasons, calls tools and enforces rules. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/decagon-launches-voice-3-and-chord-its-own-speech-model-for-customer-5c9d8de0.md) · [original source](https://decagon.ai/blog/voice-3))
- **9 Jun 2026**: Decagon launches Duet Autopilot, agents that find and propose fixes to themselves. Duet Autopilot reads production conversations, finds the most valuable problems, such as needless hand-offs to humans, and drafts targeted fixes. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/decagon-launches-duet-autopilot-agents-that-find-and-propose-fixes-to-ec9023e5.md) · [original source](https://decagon.ai/blog/autopilot))
- **27 Jan 2026**: Decagon raises $250M Series D at a $4.5B valuation. Decagon raised $250 million led by Coatue and Index Ventures, tripling its valuation to $4.5 billion in under six months. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/decagon-raises-250m-series-d-at-a-4-5b-valuation-4236bc3f.md) · [original source](https://decagon.ai/blog/series-d-announcement))

## Funding

| Date | Round | Amount | Post-money | Leads |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 27 Jan 2026 | Series D | $250M | $4.5B | Coatue Management, Index Ventures |

## Partners, customers and investors

- Chime (customer): Uses Decagon's chat and voice agents; COO Janelle Sallenave cited cross-channel memory.
- Deutsche Telekom (customer): Enterprise customer using Decagon voice agents.
- Avis Budget Group (customer): Named among recent enterprise wins (Jan 2026).
- Andreessen Horowitz (investor): Existing investor; joined the Series D.

## People

- Jesse Zhang, Co-founder & CEO
- Ashwin Sreenivas, Co-founder & CTO

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