By Thomas A. Parmalee
Move over ChatGPT … funeral homes looking to boost efficiency with artificial intelligence can turn to ClosureMD, which has introduced a solution aimed at solving a persistent problem.
Getting doctors to sign off on death certificates.
Founded by Jerry Hsiang and Gregory Kopyltsov, the company provides a suite of services revolving around AI voice agents specifically for funeral homes.
“ClosureMD manages inbound family calls (both during and after hours) as well as outbound follow-ups with hospitals and physicians regarding death certificates,” Hsiang said. “Our technology helps funeral homes save time, reduce costs and serve families more efficiently.”
While the company’s solutions can fill a void for funeral homes looking for a traditional answering service, the duo has zeroed in specifically on death certificates, since the signing process eats up valuable time and is a task every funeral home does.
This isn’t the first time Hsiang and Kopylstov have teamed up on a business venture: They met in 2017 while working at a previous startup. “Over the years, we collaborated on various startup concepts and successfully built a series of enterprise and SMB SaaS companies,” Hsiang said. “Our professional relationship naturally evolved into a close friendship outside of work as well.”
So far, the two have avoided the temptation of infusing the business with outside capital, but they want to scale the business by partnering with funeral home owners, operators, investors and groups who share their vision of bringing advanced technology to the deathcare profession.
They began to focus on the death certificate signing process while exploring another business idea they ultimately decided had less potential.
“Initially, we were developing a B2C software product for funeral homes, which allowed families to animate photos of their loved ones,” Hsiang said. “However, given the rapid pace of innovation in AI, one of the major tech players released a similar offering shortly after. We then pivoted to a B2B model, which became ClosureMD — a suite of AI voice agents designed to help funeral homes operate more efficiently, with a particular focus on managing the death certificate process.”
Both Hsiang and Kopyltsov have been at the vanguard of leveraging AI to boost business operations at tech-focused companies, seeing firsthand how it can drive operational efficiency.
“We believe that applying our expertise in AI to the funeral service industry will bring meaningful improvements to processes that are traditionally slow or labor-intensive,” Hsiang said.
Positioned for Growth
While ClosureMD only launched earlier this year, it is already working with a select group of funeral homes and funeral home groups in Texas, with plans to expand across the United States and eventually into other markets, such as Canada.
In addition to the United States, the company’s platform supports more than 20 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese.
“Our AI agents are trained on all publicly available information from a funeral home’s website, as well as any documentation provided by the client, to create a custom dataset tailored to that specific business,” Hsiang said.
Asked about “guardrails” that ClosureMD can place on AI voice agents – particularly when working outside the scope of death certificates – Hsiang said they can be told not to provide pricing information and can redirect such calls to a funeral director on duty.
AI voice agents can engage in conversations with warmth and compassion, making it seem to the person on the other end of the phone that they are speaking with a real person, Hsiang said.
As for the cost, the company offers a 30-day pilot program. “Our pricing starts at $99 per month for each service (inbound, which means family calls during and after hours and outbound, which is physician and hospital follow-ups),” he said. “This base plan is typically sufficient for most funeral homes, with additional costs based on call volume and the number of death certificates handled.”
He continued, “For outbound tasks, ClosureMD saves administrative teams countless hours of follow-up calls, ensuring that critical documents like death certificates are signed promptly. For inbound calls, our AI agents provide round-the-clock service, reducing staffing costs while maintaining a high level of professionalism and responsiveness.”
Even though the funeral home market is fragmented – with independent operators, private equity groups, regional consolidators and corporations all playing in the same sandbox – interest in ClosureMD’s solutions has been robust from all segments, Hsiang said. “We’ve seen a strong interest among funeral home owners in adopting technology to improve operational efficiency, which signals a shift toward modernization in this traditionally conservative industry,” he said. The company, he emphasized, works with all funeral homes, regardless of call volume.
Asked about the reception to ClosureMD’s services so far, Hsiang noted that most funeral homes are impressed by how effectively its AI voice agents handle both family and physician interactions. “Many are surprised to see AI go beyond basic text or visual generation and into real-world, voice-driven applications,” he said. “While most have responded positively, a small number remain hesitant due to a preference for traditional, nontechnological approaches.”
Physicians and their staff members have also been impressed, noting that ClosureMD’s AI voice agents are helpful, providing consistent reminders to sign death certificates amid their busy schedules, Hsiang said.
“If you are a private equity group, independent funeral home owner, or regional operator looking to improve operational efficiency, we invite you to schedule a demo with us – there is no obligation at all to see firsthand how our AI voice agents can accelerate death certificate processing and manage calls around the clock, delivering immediate value through time savings, cost reductions, and improved service quality,” Hsiang said.
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