{"id":49831231,"title":"Show HN: PlaceCall (YC W26) – agentic API to call businesses and get things done","points":15,"user":"ymarkov","time":1790260563,"time_ago":"4 hours ago","type":"link","content":"

Hi HN, this is Yarik and Vlad from VOYGR - we are building the tools for agents and apps to engage with local businesses.

It all started with our own pain point at VOYGR: calling businesses to verify if they are open. We are both from Google (Maps and Search) and even there, the merchants and venues don’t keep this info updated. So we built an API and started using it in-house.

On July 4th, we were driving through Portland looking for a place to eat. Google Maps was saying “Holiday hours may vary”. We tried some AI assistant apps (Poke was trending back then), and they couldn’t help. Our API found 15 Thai and sushi places and called it in parallel. A few confirmed that they are open today and are taking walk-ins. One was marked closed on Google. The app can find the restaurant, but someone has to answer the phone.

This is the problem we kept seeing. Assistants can’t do much in the real world where the phone number is still a major communication interface. Muse added calls in beta mode, but it’s still calling only one place at a time. There are a bunch of tools to create your own voice agents, but nothing that can work simply out of the box. We’ve built PlaceCall to fit all your agentic needs. Give it a task in plain English and a US phone number (or a list of numbers) - it navigates phone menus, waits for you on hold, and returns a structured response with outcome, recording and transcript. If you don’t have a phone number, just describe what you need and PlaceCall comes up with the recommendations. Here is the demo: https://youtu.be/7ZbVCPv8Wq0?si=LoLxxx1M7nhS7_j-

When PlaceCall API was tested in our hackathon, we had the following use cases implemented by the developers: checking if a doctor accepts new patients, getting quotes for car service, and running quick surveys. The API can be used through Claude Code and Codex; examples and setup are listed in the repo: https://github.com/voygr-tech/placecall We give the first 250 calls free. Product page is here: https://voygr.tech/placecall/

Try it and let us know how it goes. We are interested in learning what you would use it for and what is missing. We are here all day and happy to answer any questions. Our email: founders@voygr.tech","url":"item?id=49831231","comments":[{"id":49831756,"level":0,"user":"tony-urban-ai","time":1790262852,"time_ago":"4 hours ago","content":"

Could I use it for my SDRs?:)","comments":[{"id":49831897,"level":1,"user":"ymarkov","time":1790263344,"time_ago":"4 hours ago","content":"

this could definitely be one of the use-cases","comments":[]}]},{"id":49831764,"level":0,"time":1790262869,"time_ago":"4 hours ago","content":"[deleted]","deleted":true,"comments":[]}],"comments_count":3}