fonio.ai continues its European growth trajectory with expansion into French-speaking markets

Vienna, January 28, 2025 – Vienna-based AI company fonio.ai is continuing its international growth and is now available across European French-speaking markets. Following strong growth and successful fundraising activities in 2025, fonio.ai is expanding into Europe’s second-largest economy. Just weeks after launch, the company has already gained its first paying customers and built a strong sales pipeline.

With its AI-powered phone assistant, fonio.ai enables businesses to remain reachable at all times while automating the handling of incoming calls. The solution is designed for small and medium-sized enterprises and has grown to market leadership in the DACH region over the past year. fonio.ai enters 2026 with around 5,000 customers.

Strong start in French-speaking markets

fonio.ai is now available in France as well as in the French-speaking regions of Switzerland and Belgium. Within just a few days of market entry, around 30 French-speaking companies had already begun using the solution productively. Early customers come from call-intensive sectors such as pharmacies, dental practices, workshops, schools and e-commerce businesses. Over the next two months, fonio.ai expects its customer base in French-speaking markets to grow to around 500.

“After the German-speaking region, expanding into French-speaking markets was a logical next step for us. These markets include some of Europe’s largest yet most fragmented economies, where many small and medium-sized businesses depend on reliable availability. This is exactly where fonio.ai delivers the greatest value,” says Daniel Keinrath, CEO and co-founder of fonio.ai.

Massimiliano Gritti leads market entry

Massimiliano Gritti is responsible for fonio.ai’s market entry in France as Go-to-Market Manager. Prior to joining fonio.ai, Gritti founded a VC-backed European e-commerce marketplace for high-quality artisanal SME brands, worked with more than 800 European brands and successfully scaled the company, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, he raised around USD 10 million in growth capital.

“We are here for small businesses, the backbone of the European economy,” says Gritti. “fonio.ai gives them something extremely valuable back: time. And time means money, opportunities and entrepreneurial freedom.”

A European vision

With its expansion into French-speaking markets, fonio.ai continues to pursue its ambition of building a truly European AI company that delivers practical solutions to real-world problems. The AI is fully hosted in Europe and is deliberately designed for businesses that want to work more efficiently without losing their personal connection with customers.

“We want to demonstrate that it is possible to build globally competitive AI products from Europe while still deeply understanding the needs of local markets,” Keinrath concludes.

About fonio.ai
fonio.ai was founded in autumn 2024 by Daniel Keinrath and Matthias Gruber with the goal of helping small and medium-sized businesses with high call volumes manage their incoming calls more efficiently. The platform enables companies to create personalized AI phone assistants that are available 24/7 and conduct natural conversations. Businesses can choose their own voice and define individual rules, content and information for the AI. Today, fonio.ai serves nearly 5,000 customers and automates an average of around 800,000 calls per month. In September 2025, the company acquired Linz-based competitor fluently.