The communications industry is entering a decisive phase.
AI is no longer an experiment at the edges. Network APIs are moving from technical curiosity to commercial asset. Identity, trust, and fraud prevention are becoming foundational rather than optional. And voice itself is evolving from a human interface into an autonomous, agent-driven workflow.
Across telcos, CPaaS platforms, and enterprise software providers, the direction of travel is clear. What remains challenging is turning these shifts into real products, real partnerships, and real businesses — at speed, and at scale.
At CPaaSAA, we increasingly see a growing gap between strategic intent and execution. In a market full of AI hype and bold claims, this gap is where many of the most interesting startups are emerging — and where collaboration across the ecosystem becomes essential for progress and, ultimately, survival.
This post outlines the key themes we are actively exploring, how we’re engaging with innovators and industry leaders around them, and how founders and partners can plug into the conversation.
The Themes We’re Exploring
Rather than looking at “communications” in the abstract, we are focusing on a small number of concrete problem areas where AI, network capabilities, and real-world demand intersect.
AI Infrastructure & Agent Platforms
AI-driven communications require more than powerful models. They demand real-time orchestration, low latency, enterprise-grade security, and increasingly sovereign or edge-based deployment options. We are seeing strong innovation around agent runtimes, real-time inference, and platforms that allow enterprises and service providers to operationalize AI safely and at scale — particularly in regulated or latency-sensitive environments.
Voice AI & Autonomous Workflows
Voice is shifting from a channel to a workflow engine. From customer service and sales to provisioning, routing, and fraud mitigation, autonomous voice agents are starting to replace or augment human-driven processes. The hard problems are reliability, trust, and deep integration with existing communications stacks — not demos. This is where meaningful differentiation is starting to emerge.
Identity, Trust & Silent Authentication
As communications become automated and agent-driven, identity and trust move to the center. Fraud prevention, consent management, and authentication increasingly need to happen seamlessly, often without explicit user interaction. Telco assets and network intelligence offer unique advantages here, but new approaches are required to package, abstract, and deploy these capabilities in ways enterprises can actually adopt.
Network APIs & Network Intelligence
Operator capabilities — such as quality, location, events, and fraud signals — are becoming API products. The opportunity is real, but so are the challenges: fragmentation, inconsistent abstractions, and unclear go-to-market models. We are particularly interested in startups that simplify access, aggregate capabilities, or translate raw network intelligence into outcomes enterprises are willing to pay for.
Composable CPaaS & AI-First Enterprise Automation
Enterprises and SMEs are increasingly looking for modular, AI-first building blocks rather than monolithic platforms. This includes composable CPaaS components, verticalized communication stacks, and automation layers that integrate directly into business workflows. The winners here will be those that reduce complexity while enabling faster experimentation and deployment.
Across these themes, CPaaSAA is actively mapping the landscape, engaging with founders and early adopters, and connecting innovators with operators and platforms that are wrestling with these challenges today. Some areas are still exploratory, others already have concrete conversations and early validation underway — but in all cases the focus is on practical execution rather than speculative ideas. The common thread is simple: turning emerging capabilities into solutions that can be deployed, adopted, and scaled.
From Ideas to Execution: Our Approach
CPaaSAA’s role is not to run accelerators or host pitch competitions.
Instead, we believe in focused, execution-oriented collaboration:
- Identifying real problems faced by operators, CPaaS platforms, and enterprises
- Mapping startups building credible solutions in these areas
- Creating structured conversations between innovators and industry leaders
- Using working sessions, pilots, and events to validate what actually works
This approach allows founders to engage without hype, and industry partners to explore innovation without committing prematurely.
Behind the scenes, CPaaSAA works closely with a broader ecosystem of strategic and innovation partners — including Sandbox Industries — who bring deep experience in applied innovation, enterprise transformation, and scaling new technologies inside complex organizations. For founders and partners alike, this means conversations grounded in execution, not theory. We’ll be announcing some exciting new initiatives shortly!
How to Engage
If you’re building in one of the areas above, we’d welcome the opportunity to compare notes and understand what you’re seeing in the market.
If you’re an operator, CPaaS platform, or technology partner, your perspective helps shape which problems matter most — and which solutions gain traction.
Many of these themes will be explored in more depth at CASA26 in September, where CPaaSAA brings together innovators, industry leaders, and practitioners for open, execution-focused discussions. A limited number of complimentary tickets are available for founders and early-stage teams who are actively building in these areas.
The next phase of communications will not be defined by isolated breakthroughs or AI headlines, but by coalitions that connect technology, networks, capital, and real customer needs.
We look forward to shaping that future together!
My lifetime in IT and telecoms has been dedicated to innovation, building bridges and creating change. From the early days of cloud communications to working with operators on innovations and business development, and currently emphasizing APIs, CPaaS/CX and AI, my journey has been one of continuous evolution.
As founding partner at CPaaS Acceleration Alliance and The Next Cloud I'm privileged to help global telcos and techcos thrive in a fast changing world - through events, community building, strategy and global business development. I thrive on challenges and change, strategizing in cloud communications, and bringing people together for mutual success. Travel and continuous learning are my passions.
I believe the global communications industry is pivoting to prioritize customer experience and impactful solutions over mere technology and platforms, and we can tackle societal challenges by merging the strengths of corporates and innovators within new ecosystems.
Comments are closed