Certus AI blog · Jan 2026
Official blog post announcing an innovation award win and describing product capabilities, failsafe behavior, and market traction.
Replacing the restaurant phone line with Voice AI
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 29, 2026
Overview
Certus AI is a Y Combinator-backed restaurant voice-AI startup that answers calls 24/7, takes orders, books reservations, handles customer inquiries, and pushes orders into restaurant POS systems. It is positioned as an AI phone agent for restaurants that helps recover missed-call revenue with multilingual support, fast setup, and direct integrations.
Primary product
AI phone agent for restaurants that answers calls, takes orders, books reservations, and syncs orders into POS systems
Founded
2025
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
Team size
1-10
Work style
Hybrid
Industry
Technology, Information and Internet
Sub-industry
Restaurant voice AI / AI phone agent
Offices
San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Business model
B2B SaaS subscription
flat monthly subscription
custom enterprise pricing
Funding
People & investors
Work & culture
Fast-paced, high-ownership, operator-centric culture. Public job posts emphasize urgency, optimism, empathy, craftsmanship, ownership, and impact; the team says the work is not a 9–5 and rewards speed, resilience, and practical problem-solving.
Work style
Hybrid
Compensation
Public job posts show uncapped commissions and competitive OTEs: SDR around $68.6K annual OTE (stretch $78.2K+), BDR around $63K annual OTE, AE around $117K annual OTE (stretch $150K), and Technical Success Associate at $70K–$100K base plus equity and benefits. Roles also mention a paid gym membership and equity package.
Benefits
equity package
paid gym membership
salary + equity + benefits
full tools/software/support
remote-friendly roles
Product & market
Pricing
Flat monthly subscription with custom enterprise pricing; public materials emphasize no per-minute billing and unlimited call handling on some plans.
Differentiators
- —Restaurant-specific voice AI built for phone-order workflows
- —Direct POS order injection
- —Multilingual support including English, Spanish, and French
- —Failsafe backup ordering when integrations fail
- —No new hardware required
- —Fast setup / same-day go-live positioning
- —Handles complex menus, accents, and customizations
- —Customer memory and repeat-caller recognition
- —Private chat and direct support from the team
- —Flat monthly pricing rather than per-minute billing
Technology
Toast POS
Square POS
Clover POS
Skytab
Uber Eats
DoorDash
Google Analytics
Hyros
SalesLoft
Meta Pixel
SMS payment links
encrypted POS payment processing
analytics dashboard
Customers
Dirty Bird Chicken N' Waffles
Boardwalk Pizza
Baci Trattoria & Pizza
Stations Restaurant and Catering
Jimmy's Seaside Burgers and Wings
Ike's Cafe and Grill
Manhattan Deli and Grill
Italian Pizza and Pasta
Gold Coast Kitchen
The Gatsby Hawaii
Competitors
Slang AI
Loman AI
Popmenu (AI Answering)
Clara AI
Bite Buddy
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
Public estimates vary; best-supported public estimate is about $660K ARR, while some third-party profiles estimate up to about $3.8M ARR.
Latest news
The Open Letter · Jan 2026
Highlights Certus AI’s restaurant voice-agent positioning, 45+ POS integrations, and early funding/Y Combinator status.
Business Insider Africa · Dec 2025
Long-form profile on how Certus AI works, the founding story, and the restaurant operators it serves.
Digital Journal · Nov 2025
Profile on Certus AI and its founders, describing the restaurant phone-line problem, Y Combinator backing, and the product’s POS-integrated voice system.
TechCentral · Oct 2025
Reports Y Combinator backing for Certus AI and notes the founders’ relocation plans and early-stage funding round.
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