Speech-to-Text AI Specialist Now Valued at $2B

U.S. startup Wispr has completed a $280 million funding round at a $2 billion valuation as interest in its AI-powered dictation platform continues to grow rapidly.The San Francisco-based vendor confirmed the Series B investment in a post on its website on Monday. It follows a $30 million Series A round last May.The company’s core product is the dictation app Wispr Flow, which enables users to interact with mobile and desktop environments using speech rather than text. What makes Wispr Flow stand out, though, compared to similar tools, is its popularity.In the post, co-founder and CEO Tanay Kothari said that just over a year ago, there was widespread skepticism about voice tech. He said: “That skepticism was natural. People had been trying voice tools for 15 years and getting the same result every time, so the reasonable assumption was that this one would disappoint them too.”Users now say Wispr Flow saves them significant time, according to the vendor.Related:Alibaba Qwen 3.8 27B Model Targets Edge AIWispr attributes this to the quality of the output, with the platform going beyond basic transcription to format users’ thoughts, learn their vocabulary and produce text that mirrors their way of talking. A global reach has also accelerated uptake, with about 60% of the app’s output non-English.Improvements are planned, including a new proprietary speech model -- Canto -- being developed that can cope with voices in difficult conditions such as background noise, music playing or when strong local accents are used.And while Flow concentrates on the speech users direct at their computer, Wispr also recently released Notetaker, a tool intended for use in meetings with other people.Wspr said it will dedicate the latest funding toward further product development and continued accuracy improvements. Leading the Series B round was longtime investor Menlo Ventures, with returnees including Notable Capital, NEA, Neo Ventures, 8VC and MPV Ventures.New investors include Acrew Capital, Forerunner Ventures, the Together Fund and Goodwater Capital. Other investors include several celebrities and sports stars, including the Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott, the Pittsburgh Steelers' DK Metcalf, and TV show Baywatch’s gymnast Livvy Dunne.About the AuthorContributing WriterGraham Hope has worked in automotive journalism in the U.K. for 26 years, including spells as editor of leading consumer news website and weekly Auto Express and respected buying guide CarBuyer.