❯ Mistlabs raises $26 million to move from an AI assistant on Apple devices to its own wearable

Pre-Series ASan Francisco-based Mistlabs disclosed on October 12 a $26 million pre-Series A led by Luminous Ventures and Huaqin Technology to develop a standalone AI wearable; CEO is Peter Mo.

An assistant that thinks aheadIts product, Ambi, left beta on iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac. According to SiliconANGLE, it learns about users from conversations its devices hear, understands their work style better over time, and lets a task move between Mac, phone and watch. Audio storage is off by default and users set what it can do.

Working during the meetingIts Routine feature hands a recurring job to several agents. In the company’s example, during a competitor meeting Ambi fact-checks in real time, compares rival products and drafts a proposal on the MacBook before the meeting ends, then keeps tracking the project and flags missing information and new developments.

Next: hardware and AI negotiationIt plans its own wearable later this year, with a waitlist open, to give Ambi more context about users and surroundings. In coming months, two users’ Ambis in the same meeting will be able to share context within permissions, find shared priorities, flag disagreements and propose outcomes both accept.

Why wear one more deviceThe more an assistant knows, the more it helps, but that also means it hears more, so users must decide what it may know. A wearable has to offer help phones and watches can’t, or people have no reason to wear one more thing.

▮ SIGNALThe challenge for AI wearables was never whether they can be built, but whether they give people a reason to wear one more device.