Subtle, a voice AI startup that created a voice separation model to help computers understand you more easily in noisy environments, today launched new wireless earbuds that help users hear clearly during calls and transcribe notes clearly.
The company announced the earbuds ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and said it plans to ship them in the U.S. in the coming months. Buds costs $199 and comes with a one-year subscription to iOS and Mac apps. The app allows users to take voice notes and chat with AI without pressing any keys. The company said it uses a chip that can wake up the iPhone when it’s locked.
The startup also seeks to compete with AI-powered voice dictation apps like Wispr Flow, Willow, Monolouge, and Superwisper by allowing users to dictate in any app using a voice pad. The company claimed that the Buds would generate five times fewer errors than AirPods Pro 3 and OpenAI’s transcription model combined.
In a demo seen by TechCrunch, the Voice Buds were able to capture audio even in noisy backgrounds. The Buds were also able to capture text for voice notes when Subtle co-founder and CEO Tyler Chen spoke in a whisper.
“We’re seeing a huge movement toward voice as a new interface, and a lot of people are adopting it. With voice, you can do much more than a keyboard in a natural way. But we’ve found that interfaces where voice is used when another person is present is rare. So with our noise isolation model, we’re giving consumers a way to experience a voice interface in the form of earbuds,” Chen told TechCrunch by phone.
Last year, companies like Sandbar and Pebble launched note-taking rings. Chen said he wants to combine his company’s Buds with an app to provide the functionality of various tools such as dictation, AI chat, and voice memos in one package.
Users can pre-order these buds using the startup’s site. Voicebuds are available in black and white.
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Subtle has raised $6 million in funding and is working with consumer companies like Qualcomm and Nothing to roll out models for noise isolation.
