Wispr AI, a neurotechnology and AI startup based in San Francisco, has raised $4.6 million in seed funding to integrate deliberate thought into neural interfaces to create truly immersive technology.
The funding round was co-led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and 8VC, with participation from CTRL-Labs CSO & Co-founder Josh Duyan, Berkeley Neuroscience Professor & iota Biosciences Co-CEO Jose Carmena, Warby Parker CEO Dave Gilboa, Stanford NLP Professor Chris Manning, Salesforce Chief Scientist Richard Socher, Nesos CTO Vivek Sharma and Whoop Founder & CEO Will Ahmed.
Wispr AI will use the funding to boost its development and recruitment efforts, channeling the efforts of the top talent in the areas of engineering and neurosciences into the development of the first thought-powered digital interface. Alex Kolicich, Founding Partner at 8VC., referred to the firm’s motivation to participate in the round by stating:
“What this means is that Wispr’s technology would be akin to wearable devices people are already used to and would inconspicuously fit into their lives. It’s brilliant how Sahaj and Tanay are looking at solving this problem. It’s rare to find a combination of founders who are deeply technical and at the same time so focused on developing a product that is consumer-centric.”
Founded in 2021 by Sahaj Garg (CTO) and Tanay Kothari (CEO), Wispr AI is looking to use deliberate thought as digital input, allowing users to interface in a seamless manner with an increasingly digital world. The startup is doing this by combining the latest technologies in the fields of deep learning, electrical interfaces, and neuroscience. Kothari said in this regard:
“The technologies we use are evolving at an unprecedented pace. We have moved from phones to smartwatches, VR headsets and immersive augmented experiences. How we interact with this technology will be one of the biggest questions to shape this decade. As we move away from keyboards and voice, the next generation of interfaces are going to be more natural, seamless and private. Our mission is to bring these interfaces to every single person in the world.”
Historically, technology has required hardware like keyboards, joysticks, control panels, and cameras for users to interact with it, which can result in certain users being able to access certain platforms. By replacing these interfaces with one that is directly powered by though, Wispr AI is aiming to simplify and improve how we interact with technology, creating new use cases and changing the lives of millions.
