Helix raised $6.2 million in Pre-Seed funding led by Chicago Ventures. The startup also launched its voice-powered human verification platform. It uses short voice samples to detect bots and estimate age in under four seconds.
Funding participants
The round drew BAM Ventures, Aglaé Ventures, Corazon Capital, Tusk Ventures, Yonder Ventures, Rule30, Press On Ventures, and Brown Angel Group. Siri co-creator Dag Kittlaus backs the company and serves as an advisor. Jared Smith, former president of Ticketmaster, joined as a board member and investor.
Company and early partners
Helix was founded in 2025 by Alex Oberg, Anna Dorofiyenko, and Mike Hall. Oberg previously worked at Ticketmaster, Dorofiyenko led data science teams at Live Nation and Zillow, and Hall worked at Nike and Tinder. Zeel, an in-home health and wellness platform, is testing Helix for provider verification.
How the platform works
The platform uses a four-number voice challenge to verify human users. Its model runs on-device, so biometric data and personally identifiable information never leave the phone. Clients can integrate via an SDK or through Claude Code or OpenAI Codex deployments.
Helix is currently in beta with early partners. It is exploring use cases such as verifying cab drivers and age verification for social platforms. The company is also piloting voice as a biomarker for conditions such as impairment or distress.
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