Sandbar secures $23M Series A for its AI note-taking ring

Sandbar, a startup founded by former Meta employees Mina Fahmi and Kirak Hong, has secured $23 million in a Series A funding round. The investment, led by Adjacent and Kindred Ventures, will accelerate the development and shipment of its flagship product: the Stream smart ring. Unlike health-focused wearables like Oura, the Stream is designed specifically for AI-powered note-taking. The ring features a microphone that is off by default but can be activated via a touch-sensitive panel on its top. This design requires users to lift their hand to their face to record, tuning the mic for proximity to enhance privacy and audio clarity. Early pre-order batches have sold out, signaling strong initial demand for this novel form factor in the productivity hardware space.

The company is now focused on refining the companion app experience and reducing AI model response latency. A key development goal is enabling "agentic workflows," where the AI can take actions based on recorded notes, moving beyond simple transcription. Founder Mina Fahmi emphasized the importance of multi-turn conversations with the AI assistant, allowing for iterative task clarification and editing—a step beyond single-command smart speakers. With 15 employees from companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple, Sandbar plans to double its software and machine learning teams with the new capital. The startup enters a growing niche that includes competitors like Plaud and the upcoming $75 Pebble ring, but aims to differentiate with its conversational AI and dedicated hardware-software integration. Shipments are scheduled to begin this summer.