As South Florida’s fintech and enterprise tech sectors continue to surge, an AI company for the regulated industries is planting its flag in Miami.
Acclaim, formerly known as Aiphoria, is formally entering the U.S. market, establishing its global headquarters in Miami, the company announced today. Leading the expansion is newly appointed CEO Fred Fontes, an industry veteran with deep experience in applied AI and customer operations.
The move comes as Acclaim looks to scale its voice-first artificial intelligence platform, which is designed specifically for enterprises in regulated industries such as banking, insurance, and healthcare, instead a platform “for anyone and everyone” prevalent in Silicon Valley, said Fontes [pictured above], in an interview with Refresh Miami. “We want to go deep in an industry and solve not just the voice problem, but the workflow problem, soup to nuts.”
Founded roughly two and a half years ago by a team of engineers with experience building conversational AI systems in Cyprus with offices around Eastern Union, Acclaim reports it has already powered billions of customer interactions and supported more than 50 million users globally. The company rebranded ahead of its U.S. debut to reflect a broader vision.
Acclaim’s core product is a voice-first AI customer experience (CX) platform that enables enterprises to deploy “goal-oriented” AI agents. Unlike traditional scripted bots, these systems are designed to achieve specific business outcomes, such as resolving customer issues, recovering payments, or driving sales, while operating within strict regulatory frameworks.
For the company, the Miami region offers proximity to a growing base of financial services customers and partners across the U.S. and Latin America. Fontes, who relocated to the Miami area five years ago, is currently looking for office space potentially in Coral Gables. “Part of the reason we’re excited about locating our headquarters here is that density of customers and partners here to work with,” said Fontes, who previously worked at AI companies Replicant and Aera Technology, as well as McKinsey and Delloitte.
The Miami area office will serve as the company’s global headquarters, housing all customer-facing functions, including sales, marketing, and customer success. Meanwhile, Acclaim will maintain a globally distributed engineering team, leveraging specialized talent in Europe and beyond, Fontes said.
Acclaim is already ramping up hiring in South Florida, with open roles including account executives, sales development representatives, customer success managers, and technical account managers, along with several marketing positions. The company currently employs about 75 people globally, a number expected to grow significantly as U.S. operations expand.
The expansion is supported by a previously announced $40 million Series A funding round led by investor Ratmir Timashev, co-founder of Veeam. “The objective is for Miami to truly be our global headquarters,” Fontes said.
Acclaim’s platform, fully developed in-house, includes built-in compliance controls, auditability features, and flexible deployment options, including on-premises systems that are critical for industries handling sensitive data.
That’s because one of the biggest barriers to enterprise AI adoption remains trust. “There’s still a lot of hesitation from organizations and jumping in with both feet feels new, it feels foreign,” Fontes said, also citing the awkward tension between the pressure to adopt AI and the need to safeguard customer data.
As Acclaim scales, Fontes emphasized Acclaim’s measured, long-term approach to growth, in contrast to what he described as the “grow at all costs” mentality. “We want to build the company the right way, with the right partners, and the right ecosystem.”
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