Dublin start-up Linda AI plans rapid expansion as dental clinics adopt AI agents to automate front desks to curb missed calls and lift bookings.
Irish voice‑AI start‑up Linda AI secures €2.6m to automate dental front‑desk operations
Linda AI, a Dublin health‑technology start‑up building automated voice agents for dental practices, has raised €2.6 million in pre‑seed funding as the sector looks for new ways to manage rising patient volumes and overstretched front‑desk teams.
“Linda handles inbound calls when front desks are stretched, so clinics do not miss opportunities while teams focus on patients in the chair”
The round was led by early‑stage investor 6 Degrees Capital. The relationship began when the fund met the founders during a female‑founder event in London, part of a Fierce Women in Tech programme. Linda AI is also an alumna of the NDRC Accelerator in Dublin.
The company was founded by sisters India and Portia Healy O’Connor, both former Goldman Sachs sales and trading specialists who grew up around their father’s medical practice. They are joined by chief technology officer Lucio Tudisco, who previously built enterprise systems at Amazon, Patreon and Circle. The trio are building AI tools that fit into the highly specific and often time‑pressed workflows of dental clinics.
Start‑up puts the bite back into dental bookings
Dentistry remains heavily reliant on phone calls for booking and coordination. Clinics typically miss more than a quarter of inbound calls, which can translate into more than €10,000 in lost revenue each month for a four‑surgery practice.
Linda AI’s system picks up overflow and out‑of‑hours calls, confirms appointments, manages rescheduling and completes bookings within existing practice management software.
Adoption of voice AI in service‑led industries is rising at about 35 per cent a year, according to the company. Vertical AI systems tailored for specialist sectors are gaining particular traction as practices seek tools that improve utilisation rather than replace staff.
India Healy O’Connor, co‑founder and chief executive, said many missed bookings stem from limited staff capacity.
“Linda handles inbound calls when front desks are stretched, so clinics do not miss opportunities while teams focus on patients in the chair,” she said.
The start‑up says its platform is producing measurable results in early roll‑outs. A quarter of new patient bookings for partner clinics now come through the AI system.
Practices report a 15% increase in total bookings and a drop of more than 30% in failed‑to‑attend rates. The company adds that front‑desk teams are saving more than ten hours of administrative time per week.
Dr Annette Staunton, owner of Cube Dental, a three‑site group in Ireland, said the system had strengthened the clinic’s ability to handle calls outside core hours.
“Linda AI integrates seamlessly with our cloud‑based practice management software and phone system,” she said. “It has given us flexibility to manage bookings at weekends and after hours while improving appointment confirmations, particularly for patients who have not responded to text messages.”
Linda AI is now live in more than 50 locations across Ireland and the UK, including several large dental support organisations. The new funding will be used to expand engineering, strengthen the senior sales function and support roll‑outs across additional practices in both markets.
Christina Franzeskides, principal at 6 Degrees Capital, said the firm was drawn to the strength and cohesion of the founding team. “Voice AI agents are transforming industries by improving operational efficiency and customer experience,” she said. “Dentistry is an attractive sector because clinics are at full demand but held back by front‑desk constraints. Linda AI addresses this bottleneck by integrating directly into existing operations, providing clear financial returns for practices.”
She added that the fund was impressed by the speed at which the company secured early partnerships.
“We believe Linda AI is well positioned to become a category leader in this rapidly evolving space.”
Top image: India Healy O’Connor (CEO), Lucio Tudisco (CTO) and Portia Healy O’Connor (CPO)
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