Get Paid with Manny Medina
S2E36: Meet the Man Who Left Siri to Build the Future of Voice AI
February 5, 2026
Nikola has been building voice AI since it was basically a lab experiment. Cambridge → a startup that got acquired by Apple → then straight into the deep end with PolyAI: enterprise voice agents for customer support, CX, and the brutal reality of contact centers. In this episode, Nikola and Manny go right at the parts people avoid: why voice is still the dominant interface, why contact centers are structurally broken (attrition, no-shows, “hiring as strategy”), and why the BPO model collapses the second you try to automate it. Then the real fight: monetisation. They unpack why CCaaS incumbents move slowly, why “outcome-based” is trickier than it sounds in enterprise, and how PolyAI actually prices today — consumption vs outcome vs license, plus what happens when buyers demand predictability. If you’re building agentic CX, selling into enterprise, or trying to price AI without nuking your margins — this one is for you. 🟢 Links & resources Get Paid.ai → Follow Manny Medina, Founder/CEO of Paid.ai on LinkedIn - → Paid.ai on LinkedIn → Subscribe to AgentTalk (Substack) 🟢 Listen on other platforms: → Substack → Apple Podcasts → Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nikola has been building voice AI since it was basically a lab experiment.

Cambridge → a startup that got acquired by Apple → then straight into the deep end with PolyAI: enterprise voice agents for customer support, CX, and the brutal reality of contact centers.


In this episode, Nikola and Manny go right at the parts people avoid:

why voice is still the dominant interface, why contact centers are structurally broken (attrition, no-shows, “hiring as strategy”), and why the BPO model collapses the second you try to automate it.


Then the real fight: monetisation.

They unpack why CCaaS incumbents move slowly, why “outcome-based” is trickier than it sounds in enterprise, and how PolyAI actually prices today — consumption vs outcome vs license, plus what happens when buyers demand predictability.


If you’re building agentic CX, selling into enterprise, or trying to price AI without nuking your margins — this one is for you.


🟢 Links & resources Get Paid.ai

→ Follow Manny Medina, Founder/CEO of Paid.ai on LinkedIn -

→ Paid.ai on LinkedIn

→ Subscribe to AgentTalk (Substack)

🟢 Listen on other platforms:

→ Substack

→ Apple Podcasts

→ Spotify


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


Get Paid with Manny Medina is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so