It feels like AI companies want us all to talk to our products more frequently. Meta, Google, Openai and Anthropic have given several names and added the ability to allow users to take advantage of the advances in Speech-tostex technology to naturally talk to AI bots just like everyone else.
A startup called Wispr Flow feels that it can outperform Bigwigs with its dictation technology that supports over 100 languages. Today, the company expanded existing Windows and Mac apps with a new iOS app that doubles as a keyboard, allowing voice to be used to input within any app.
Now you may think this is just another speech-to-text company, but this reporter was particularly impressed with the WISPR flow. As an Indian, I have never found a speech-to-text app that fully understands what I am saying. I also had a hard time making requests to AI assistants like Alexa and Siri.
However, WISPR Flow presented a very good experience compared to the dictation technology I used from Big Tech. Initially, I had to edit the text in the WISPR Flow Desktop App and the Mobile App, but after using it a few times, the dictation experience improved dramatically. I ended up using the app to write long emails and messages, and I wrote a lot of this story using only my voice.
Also, if you need to enter special characters, the app has a numeric and symbol keyboard that will automatically learn custom names and terms, or you can add them via the dictionary section. You can also whisper to the microphone if you want to use it in an environment where you can’t speak loudly. The company claims that iOS apps can work even in poor network coverage.
Tanay Kothari, co-founder of the startup, told TechCrunch that he has set out to build a wearable device that users can type with just a quiet utterance of words. The operating layer of that wearable is flow, and last July the company released its MAC app a few months later, focusing on software.
In the desktop app, users can start instructions in any app by pressing a hotkey. This is easy to access. For iOS apps, it’s about persuading users to switch to the WISPR keyboard every time they use the app.
The WISPR flow is free to use until you reach the 2,000-word limit per week. It also offers unlimited plans of $12 a month (or $144 a year), offering early access to new features.
The company has raised $26 million so far from investors such as NEA, Palo Alto Networks and 8VC. Kothari said his subscription business had a conversion rate of 19%, and startup revenues are up 60% year-on-year.
The startup is working on releasing an Android app this year. We also build shared context capabilities for teams so that apps can understand common terms within an enterprise context.
WISPR has many competitors including YC-backed Aqua, TalkTastic, SuperWhisper, and getting better. Kothari hopes for more competition in this area with advances in AI and voice technology, but he believes WISPR’s engineering team and long-term investment in technology will highlight that.