Bland raises $50M to automate complex, high-stakes phone calls

# Bland Gets $50M to Handle Phone Calls with AI A startup called Bland just secured $50 million to expand its AI technology that can make and receive phone calls on your behalf—handling tasks like scheduling appointments or managing customer service issues without human involvement. The company plans to use the funding to hire more engineers and move into heavily regulated industries like healthcare and finance, where phone-based work is critical but expensive. Essentially, Bland is betting that businesses will pay to have AI handle the phone calls that currently tie up their employees' time.