Volley (W18) - YC Tech Talks: Gaming 2020 (November 9th, 2020)

Company Overview

• Volley is a voice-control-first gaming studio co-founded by Max, specializing in voice-only interfaces for devices like Alexa and Google Home.
• The company currently holds the number one spot for the "Song Quiz" music trivia game on both major voice platforms.
• Product portfolio includes "choose your own adventure" interactive storytelling and an ambitious, unreleased RPG-style voice game.
• Games are accessible on voice-only devices, screens, and voice-controlled televisions.

Growth and Operations

• Volley raised a Series A funding round five months prior to the interview.
• The team has expanded rapidly to 25 employees, operating primarily as a remote workforce based in San Francisco.
• The company identifies itself as a market leader, having grown significantly alongside the expansion of Alexa and Google Home platforms over the last three years.

Technical Initiatives

• Volley is developing a proprietary "Unreal Engine for voice," described as the most ambitious gaming engine built specifically for voice-controlled software.
• Multiple new gaming projects are currently in development but remain unreleased and unannounced.

Hiring and Recruitment

• The company is actively recruiting across engineering, data science, and design functions.
• Recruitment messaging targets candidates interested in pioneering work on a new interface paradigm without touch or click inputs.