Business / Fri, 10 Jul 2026 News18

Meet The 12-Year-Old Founder Who Built An AI Receptionist For Small Businesses

But Mana Jampala has spent hers building an artificial intelligence startup that is already helping small businesses manage customer calls. While visiting her father's workplace, Mana noticed that the small team often missed important phone calls because they were busy with customers. She realised that every unanswered call could mean a lost client or missed business opportunity. It can schedule appointments, manage missed calls, record orders and provide summaries after every conversation. Today, Voxa handles hundreds of calls, and Mana is working towards signing her first paying customers before expanding the business further.

Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 08:12 IST

1 / 7 Most 12-year-olds spend their free time playing games or finishing homework. But Mana Jampala has spent hers building an artificial intelligence startup that is already helping small businesses manage customer calls. Based in British Columbia, Canada, Mana is the founder of Voxa, an AI-powered virtual receptionist that answers phone calls, books appointments, takes restaurant orders, creates call summaries and ensures businesses never miss potential customers. (Image: LinkedIn)

2 / 7 The idea for Voxa came from a simple observation. While visiting her father's workplace, Mana noticed that the small team often missed important phone calls because they were busy with customers. She realised that every unanswered call could mean a lost client or missed business opportunity. Instead of accepting it as a common problem, she decided to build a solution. That idea eventually became Voxa, which was launched in November 2025. (Image: LinkedIn)

3 / 7 Mana's journey into technology began early. She started learning Python programming when she was just nine years old and quickly developed a passion for artificial intelligence. She also won international coding competitions and received support from the 1517 Medici Project, a grant programme that encourages young entrepreneurs with bold ideas. (Image: LinkedIn)

4 / 7 Voxa is designed to work around the clock, answering calls even when business owners are unavailable. It can schedule appointments, manage missed calls, record orders and provide summaries after every conversation. Mana has also created Voxa Agents, a feature that allows users to build customised AI assistants simply by describing what they want in plain language. (Image: Instagram/@im_manajampala)

5 / 7 Rather than writing every line of code from scratch, Mana used AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to speed up development while building much of the system herself. She believes AI has made it easier than ever for young people to turn ideas into real products, regardless of their age. (Image: Instagram/@im_manajampala)

6 / 7 Being a young founder has not always been easy. Mana says some potential customers and investors were initially hesitant because of her age. Instead of giving up, she shifted her focus to online outreach and continued improving her product. Today, Voxa handles hundreds of calls, and Mana is working towards signing her first paying customers before expanding the business further. (Image: Instagram/@im_manajampala)