Toma’s AI voice agents have taken off at car dealerships – and attracted funding from a16z

When Monik Pamecha co-founded AI voice startup Toma in early 2024, he hadn’t anticipated spending the summer months sweating in Bible Belt car dealerships. He and co-founder Anthony Krivonos were still focused on banking and healthcare customers when the dealers came knocking. 

“They just called us up and said ‘we are drowning in phone calls,’” Pamecha described that initial contact in an interview with TechCrunch. 

Seeing an opportunity to pivot into a far less-regulated space than banking or healthcare, Pamecha and Krivonos set…