Is the humble keyboard about to be replaced by AI? The developers of Wispr Flow dictation software … [+]
I spend a lot of my time reviewing keyboards for Macs and PCs. There are billions of keyboards in use around the world for inputting text, but with the advent of AI, the way we input text into our computers could be about to undergo a seismic shift.
Dictation software is nothing new and has been around for the best part of 20 years. Originally developed by IBM and others, such as Dragon, the software has come a long way but it’s still too clunky for some people and difficult to correct mistakes or accommodate changes.
Wispr is a company that’s building a more natural way to interact with technology using voice and has just announced a new $12 million investment to help it fuel the launch of its Wispr Flow software, a voice-first productivity tool.
Developed initially for Apple Macs, Wispr Flow lets users speak naturally into a microphone and then watch their words come to life on screen almost instantly. Wispr claims its new software is clear, concise and can be up to three times faster at inputting text than typing on a keyboard.
I downloaded the beta software to see what how it worked and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was when it came to stripping out verbal tics like “um” and “ah” etc. The software is easy to use. Anytime you want to insert some dictated words into any document or app, just press the keyboard’s Fn key twice.
Dictation has come a long way in recent years thanks to computing power. Now AI is about to take the … [+]
Once activated, the microphone on your Mac will pick up the speech and when you take your finger off the Fn key the words will paste into the app you are using, whether that be Microsoft Word, Apple Mail or ChatGPT. I even tried it out on a spreadsheet where I had a lot of numbers to enter. It worked brilliantly and saved a heap of time. The one thing the app doesn’t make clear is that it’s a 14-day trial so if that’s a dealbreaker for you, just be aware.
The latest round of investment was led by Matt Kraning, CTO, of Cortex at Palo Alto Networks with participation from existing investors NEA and 8VC, along with Tim Junio, CEO of Expanse, and Alumni Ventures. Wispr’s total funding to date has reached $26 million.
“Wispr Flow is designed to transform the way people communicate and write,” said Tanay Kothari, CEO and Founder at Wispr. “With advanced features like auto-edits, command mode, and support for over 100 languages, Wispr Flow empowers users to be more productive and creative with their voice and time.”
Co-founder of Wispr Flow is Tanay Khotari who developed the software with Sahaj Garg.
The software was created by Tanay Kothari and co-founder, Sahaj Garg, after a growing frustration at having a volume of ideas and messages that could be shared aloud while speaking faster than they were able to structure into a text, email or a written brief.
Wispr Flow is aimed at busy professionals, content creators and developers. It enables users to boost their productivity with their voice. The new funding will be used to launch Wispr Flow across additional platforms and operating systems, bringing the software to millions more potential users worldwide.
Kothari said: “Our goal is to empower effortless communication, reducing the hours spent hunched over a screen. We’re setting people free from the constraints of a keyboard and allowing them to focus on their top priorities.”
The key features of Wispr Flow include superfast dictation with natural speech appearing on the screen in the user’s preferred writing style, across every application, thanks to Flow’s inference engine. The software also takes care of auto-edits if the user has a change of mind. For example, they might say “Hey! Let’s meet at 5 p.m. Actually, let’s do 6 p.m.” and then the text will automatically appear on the screen as “Hey, let’s meet at 6 p.m.”
Wispr thinks its Flow software will change how we input text and get thoughts into our computers … [+]
Smart Formatting enables users to automatically structure their text for clarity and readability, while Command Mode can be applied to any selected text for sharpening things up with commands like: “Flow, make this crisper and more assertive.” There’s no need to copy and paste the text into other tools like ChatGPT.
Whispering Mode lets users dictate to Flow when others are around simply by whispering the words. This mode is ideal for dictating sensitive information or for working on confidential projects. Multiple voices are also catered for as there is support for more than 100 languages.
“The top tier of users today tells us they write more with Flow than with their keyboards and that we’ve helped them feel less overwhelmed,” added Kothari. “They went from using Flow for just emails and messages to using it everywhere on their computer, from talking to ChatGPT to writing reminders.”
“Tanay and Sahaj are incredible engineers who possess the talent to build anything they envision,” added Andrew Schoen, Partner at NEA. “We’re optimistic about the traction Wispr Flow is already seeing, pre-launch, among business professionals, developers, engineers and individuals within communities such as those affected by ADHD, carpal tunnel syndrome, amputations or Parkinson’s disease—towards enabling seamless communication and expression of ideas.”
On Sept 30, 2024, Wispr Flow will be available for macOS running on Apple Silicon, which represents many of the Macs in use today and nearly all purchased since 2022. Wispr Flow is available as a free downloadand the Basic Plan is free to use. The Pro and Business plans start from $12 per month.
