The Top Voices

12 startup and tech voices worth following this November! Fresh takes on AI, growth, and building products. Yasser Elsaid — Chatbase Victor Riparbelli — Synthesia Alyona Mysko — Fuelfinance Rubén Domínguez Ibar — The VC Corner Allie K. Miller — Advisor Marc Lou — Solopreneur Arthur ✌️ Querou — Vibe.co Christen Nino De Guzman — Clara For Creators Mette Lykke — Too Good To Go Henry Shi — Super.com John Rush — MarsX.dev Michael Ho — Ventures Cubed 💡 Save this list and follow these voices for insights. Read more startup stories and expert takes on The Top Voices, link in comments.

AI startup octonomy, co-founded by Sushel K. Bijganath, Oliver Trabert, Thorsten Grote, Markus Hanslik, and Thomas Bollig, has raised $20M in seed funding to scale its agentic AI systems for complex enterprise support and service workflows. The round was led by Macquarie Group, with participation from Capnamic, NRW.BANK, and TVF | TechVision Fonds. This brings octonomy’s total funding to $25M since its founding 15 months ago. octonomy builds AI systems for heavy equipment industries that can process complex, unstructured data, including technical manuals, schematics, and maintenance logs, achieving verified 95% response accuracy. The company’s agentic architecture enables technical teams to automate and resolve complex service tasks with human-level precision and speed. The new funding will accelerate octonomy’s international expansion across Europe and the U.S., further developing its AI platform for large-scale enterprise adoption. Elmar Broscheit, Jörg Binnenbrücker, Thorsten Reuter, Dr. Ansgar Schleicher, Carla Boichon, Cooper Schorr, Tom Imiela, Sebastian Martmann, Birgit Fischer, Frank Piotraschke, Benedikt Burkhardt, Aaron Landman

AI-powered office management startup WorkHero, led by Furman Haynes and Kyler Evitt, has raised $5M in seed funding to help small HVAC business owners automate back-office operations. The round was led by Navitas Capital, with participation from York IE, Workshop Venture Partners, and several strategic angel investors, including a former ServiceTitan executive. WorkHero’s platform combines AI agents with experienced industry professionals to autonomously handle key administrative tasks such as invoicing, permitting, rebate submissions, and bookkeeping — helping contractors save hours of manual work each week. The new funding will support team expansion, product development, and the launch of new service offerings like call answering and bookkeeping, empowering HVAC business owners to scale efficiently without hiring full-time office managers. Jenny Song, Mike Heller, Travis Putnam, Marshall Everson, Kyle York, Chad Laurans, Mike Berlin, Jason Carter, Valeria Velázquez, John K., Lakshya Sukhralia, Stephanie Crow, Grant Hodges, Jeremy I., Kelsey Cavazos, Leticia Amaya, Gerald Chertavian, Andrew Blair, Ershad Jamil, Bryan Orr, Gary McCreadie, Jim Bergmann, Bill Spohn, P.E.

How is business analytics reshaping strategy in 2025? We asked top industry experts how analytics is transforming decision-making, what tools are driving this change, and how AI is redefining the role of analysts today. Huge thanks to everyone who shared their insights and experience💙 Chale Dodge, Practice Lead Business Analysis, Services Pty Ltd Christina Tan, Principal Consultant & Chapter President, IIBA UK Firoz Dalwai, Senior Business Analyst, Lucid Motors Ibad M MBA, CSPO, CSM, CBA (Harvard), CASD , Senior Business Analyst, City of New York Igor Arkhipov, Founder, analystscorner & Business Analysis Manager, NAB Iurii Gomon, Founder, Passionate Business Analyst James Dean, Business Analyst, GridBeyond Rimpy S., Managing Director, KnowCloudAI Roman Beseda, Head of Analytics, Yango Oluwatosin Saeedat S., Business Analyst & Founder, NexaCore Academy Each expert shares practical insights on the tools, skills, and approaches that will define the future of business analytics in 2025. Read the full roundtable discussion on The Top Voices, link in comments.

Two weeks left to apply for the Aurora Tech Award, backing the boldest female founders in emerging markets. The Aurora Tech Award by inDrive is the only global startup award dedicated exclusively to female tech founders from emerging markets. Winners receive: → Up to US$50,000 in non-dilutive funding → Access to a global network of VCs and mentors → Visibility through international media and community exposure The open call closes November 12, 2025. Read more on The Top Voices, link in comments. Nadeen Hossam, Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, Kseniia Matveeva, Tamara Loseva, Lee Chin Jian, Anastassiya Dmitriyeva, Alina Zavorokhina, Andries Smit, Alexander Kurchin

New episode on our YouTube channel! In this episode, our co-founder Anna Lebedeva interviews Olatunbosun Alake, Commissioner for Innovation at Lagos State Government and Tech Impact Awards:Africa winner. Bosun pioneered Nigeria’s first sub-sovereign innovation fund, launched public patent programs, and helped institutionalize innovation in government. His work has already supported 50+ startups, introduced digital governance at scale, and redefined what public leadership can look like in tech. We talked about Nigeria’s tech boom, building partnerships that work, and what the next generation of leaders should focus on. Watch the full episode on our channel, link in comments! And let us know what you think 💙

Boston-based healthtech startup VitVio, founded by Thomas Knox, Peter Rennert, PhD, Maks Kozarzewski, and Aleks Pajewski, has raised $8M in seed funding to expand its AI-powered operating room platform across U.S. hospitals. The oversubscribed round was led by Bek Ventures (formerly Earlybird Digital East), with participation from LDV Capital, Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company, Balnord, Thornapple River Capital, and healthcare leaders Joe Mullings and Mati Staniszewski (co-founder of ElevenLabs). VitVio uses AI, computer vision, and ambient sensing to digitize operating rooms in real time, automating administrative tasks like logging surgical phases and coordinating staff. The platform aims to help hospitals reduce inefficiencies, improve scheduling, and free up clinicians to focus on patient care. This new funding brings VitVio’s total capital raised to $10M and will support team growth, commercialization, and further deployment across major hospitals in the U.S. Cem Sertoglu, Arda Kirkagac, Baturay Kaya, George Fisher-Wilson, Ash Cleary, Evan Nisselson, Aleksander Dobrzyniecki, Rittik Rao, CFA, Andy Chung, David Laith Rawaf, MD, Jacob Fleck, Konstanty Kowalewski, Christina Sørensen, Austin Mayo, Nadiia Shymchenko, Aleksander Dobrzyniecki, Joe Mullings, Jenny Yu, MD FACS, Grzegorz Jacenków, Renee Margot Botelho, Andrey Korinskiy

Romanian deep-tech startup dotLumen, founded by Cornel Amariei, has secured an €11M grant for its project “PABLO – Autonomous Robots for Urban Delivery.” The funding comes through the Intelligent Growth, Digitalization, and Financial Instruments Program 2021–2027, co-financed by the European Union. The project is led by .lumen in collaboration with the Institutul de Mecanica Solidelor al Academiei Române, Breadcrumbs Interactive, and Linnify. Together, they aim to develop a new generation of humanoid and quadruped robots capable of navigating sidewalks and crowded areas autonomously, offering a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional delivery methods. The €11M grant will support the creation of an autonomous urban delivery system powered by intelligent robots that reduce costs, improve delivery speed, and minimize environmental impact. Expected outcomes include patented technologies, new R&D positions, and AI-powered pedestrian navigation software. Alexandru Gal, Catalin Briciu, Răzvan Bretoiu, Alexandru Dorin Bogdan, Mihai Ivascu, Gabriel S., Mihai Spataru, Diana Bașa, Virgil Onaciu, Lucas Sandor, Bianca-Iulia Simion, Endre Hunnyadi, Ágota Bakos, Andrei Furdui, Daniel Cosovanu, Daniel Lacatus, Cristian Vicas

We’re joining the Saudi Startup Expo Expo 2025 as a media partner! 🚀 The Saudi Startup Expo Expo, presented by Waseera, is the Kingdom’s premier large-scale B2B startup conference and exhibition. Over two days, the expo will feature: → Startup solutions showcase & pitch competition → Investor meetings & networking sessions → Demo days, hackathons, and expert panels Speakers include Javier Sanchez-Marco (Obersis Ventures), Khaled Alsuraihi (Waseera), Abdulelah Aloshayni (Waseera FinTech), Ali Almajthoob (Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), Mustafa Mousa, PhD, ASMEC®, Sultan H Ghaznawi, among others. 📍 November 12–13, 2025 at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Riyadh (King Salman Neighborhood) Read more on The Top Voices, link in comments. The Future Event, Amby Ambreen K, Jamal A., Sarah Malik, Krishnaveni Karangi

Honored to present the Honorable Mentions chosen by The Top Voices team for the Tech Impact Awards 2025 💙 These are the changemakers whose stories inspired our team and reaffirmed the purpose behind the Tech Impact Awards. 🏅 Community Builders & Educators Elif Sena Aydin — NexifyLab Elif Sena brings inclusive tech education to underserved communities through 24 youth-led chapters in 15 countries. Her work is helping 25,000+ learners see technology as a tool for empowerment. 🏅 Thought Leadership & Public Knowledge Aliya Orazymbetova — She Innovator Eurasia / RoboTechno Girls Aliya connects education, gender inclusion, and storytelling, training 150+ girls in robotics and spotlighting 40+ women innovators across Central Asia. 🏅 Startups & Product Development Aruzhan Mominbayeva — InTech-Forecast Aruzhan created Central Asia’s first AI-based renewable energy forecasting system, improving grid stability and powering a cleaner, more sustainable future. Big thanks to our partners for supporting this journey: IT Community of Uzbekistan, The Tech media, CALI - Central Asian Ladies Initiative, Pivot, Qazaq IT Community , BTS Digital, Activation Hub With love from our team 💙 Lana G., Anna Lebedeva, Anton Kondratev, Sofya Zhamoitina, Maria Filippova