Upstarts

Sandbar CEO Mina Fahmi has raised $23M in Series A funding to fuel the launch of his AI note-taking ring, called Stream.

AI hardware devices finally – maybe! – are on the cusp of going mainstream. And founder Mina Fahmi wants to give Meta and OpenAI a run for their money with his startup, Sandbar.

Sure, Meta’s now selling millions of AI-enabled Ray-Ban glasses, and OpenAI spent more than $6 billion to work with famed former Apple designer Jony Ive on a rumored smart speaker, or maybe a lamp, or maybe whatever odd device Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia was spotted wearing in San Francisco a week ago.

And yes, a number of startups have tackled other form factors, like an AI necklace, or an AI pin, with less-than-rosy results. But Fahmi’s convinced that they’re all missing the most natural, historic form factor: a ring.

Rings are timeless for a reason, Fahmi argues: they’re ergonomically comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and convenient to wear all day. And they’re fast and easy to talk into – one quick raise of the wrist to bring thumb and forefinger to the mouth – in a motion that Fahmi argues is both convenient and a socially-acceptable signal for taking single-player, non-invasive notes.

Private, intimate, immediate: Sandbar believes its Stream AI ring device can deliver on all three, without involving people who don’t want to be, or removing the most important person at the center – their wearer.

“Our North Star is that it’s like an extension of you, not literally you,” Fahmi says. “There are a lot of design decisions we put into Stream to make sure you, as a user, feel like you’re in control.”