S15E1: Building the Infrastructure for Voice AI with Russ d'Sa, Co-Founder and CEO of LiveKit

In this season 15 opener of The Room Podcast, we speak with Russ d'Sa, co-founder and CEO of LiveKit, a platform for building real-time voice, video, and AI agents. LiveKit began as an open-source project for live audio and video. As developers adopted it, the team built cloud infrastructure to help them scale. A second turning point came when OpenAI used LiveKit to build a voice interface for ChatGPT, revealing how technology built to connect people could also connect people with AI.

Russ traces his path from growing up around computers in Canada and Silicon Valley to founding a startup, working at 23andMe and Twitter, and building LiveKit. He shares the unexpected relationships and product decisions that shaped the company, including why he calls it the “accidental AI company.” In this conversation, Russ explains why speaking with an AI requires a different kind of infrastructure from typing to one. He also looks ahead to physical AI and reflects on how becoming a father has changed the way he thinks about success and his values.

Learn more about Russ on LinkedIn and explore LiveKit.

(03:54) Where did Russ grow up, and how did it shape him?
(06:42) Did Russ always expect to become a founder?
(07:30) What screen did Russ watch the documentary on?
(09:09) Has Russ read *Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow*?
(09:17) What was Russ’s first Y Combinator company?
(09:24) Was Russ's company a gaming company?
(11:13) What year did Russ start that company?
(11:40) Did Russ join Twitter after his first startup?
(11:51) How did Russ make the transition to 23andMe?
(13:22) How did 23andMe eventually lead Russ to Twitter?
(16:51) Was Russ's Twitter role in software or content?
(22:45) What was the original idea behind LiveKit?
(30:17) Did LiveKit finally arrive at the right time?
(30:37) Who was LiveKit’s first investor?
(33:08) What has gone differently than planned while scaling LiveKit?
(35:07) Where does LiveKit fit between AI models and the software built around them?
(40:40) What makes building voice agents different from building text agents?
(45:24) What still prevents AI voice conversations from feeling fully natural?
(49:41) What is Russ excited about on LiveKit’s roadmap, and what can he share?
(53:16) Which woman has had a profound impact on Russ's life and career?

For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Check out our guide to podcasting here!
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music!

Brought to you by: Rippling, Gradial, Ashurst Perkins Coie

WX Productions